Gundam Wing: Soldiers of Destiny
by Eyefantasy
Summary: A chain reaction from the collision between Libra's falling remnant and the Wing Gundam Zero's twin buster rifle during the Eve Wars throws four Gundam pilots into a battle-ridden C.E. Arriving in the Sahara desert, the battle-weary pilots come across an intense battle between Zaft and Earth Alliance forces. Safely hidden, they plot their next move on an unfamiliar battlefield.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Gundam Wing, Gundam Seed, or any of the Gundam franchises characters. All rights and material belong to Yoshiyuki Tomino, Masashi Ikeda, Katsuyuki Sumizawa, and Mitsuo Fukuda,et all, respectively. This fanfiction is not for profit but for entertainment.

It is the year After Colony 195, December 24, the closing of the Eve Wars is at hand; with the leader of the Earth Sphere Unified Nations, Treize, and Zechs Merquise, leader of the White Fang, dead, the righteous Gundam pilots race against the clock to stop the falling remains of the battleship Libra.

As Libra descends upon Earth, a red object streaked pass Libra at breakneck speed. Heart-pounding alarms were ringing in the pilot's ears as he streamed down Earth's atmosphere, desperately trying to keep his distance ahead of the towering remnant of the space battleship. Detached from the wreckage, in Zech's attempt to destroy Libra, the remnant of Libra accelerated through Earth's atmosphere unstopped. With engines pushed to the max, the pilot and his mobile suit the Wing Zero made their last stand. The Wing Zero, one of the most formidable - and first generation of Gundams ever-built, was characterized by its white legs, red and gold tint on its head, shoulders and shield, and blue chest frame with a green orb centered in the middle. The Gundam glowed red, pieces from its metallic armor ripping apart from its forced atmospheric entry. The pilot aimed the Gundam's trademark weapon, the twin buster rifle, directly at the wreckage.

The pilot, a young man of Japanese descent by the name of Heero Yuy, steeled his resolve as he took aim. His targeting system went haywire as he tried maintaining stability through the atmosphere; alarms blaring, systems malfunctioning; his back was against wall again.

_I always find myself in these kinds of situations it seems, where the chance of surviving is slim. But, this time, this time_, thought Heero, _I will_…

"I will survive!" Heero yelled, his targeting finally locked-on to the chunk of Libra. Gaze focused his Prussian blue eyes glowed fiercely with determination. Heero pulled the trigger, and with a vengeance the twin buster rifle flared to life. A striking yellow beam erupted from the twin barrels, pulsing with electricity; the beam hit the target with a brilliant explosion. A white light engulfed Zero and the surrounding area.

* * *

The four remaining Gundam pilots watched Heero's last stand with growing trepidation and awe. In all their minds they agreed that only Heero Yuy was capable of this feat. The pilot of the heavily orange and white colored, ballistic-styled Gundam, Heavyarms, a young man of European descent with striking and intense green eyes, watched with rapt attention. Silent and calm during Heero's descent, the only thing giving away his expression was the frequent narrowing of his eyes. His thoughts drifted between Heero and his injured friend of Arabic descent, Quatre Raberba Winner; the pilot of the white, black, and yellow tinted Sandrock Gundam.

"Quatre," Trowa called softly.

"Yeah…Trowa, what's going on?" responded Quatre, his voice shaky with exhaustion; his platinum blond hair drenched in perspiration.

Trowa hummed quietly, running his hand through his brown asymmetrical haircut that covered the right side of his dark green eye, "I see…You should head back to the E.S.U.N command post, with Peacemillion destroyed, it's one of your only chances of getting treated."

"I can still fight, Trowa! There's no need, not just yet," Quatre retorted.

"He's right; you'll be a liability if more chunks of debris and wreckage start drifting into Earth's atmosphere and you end up reopening your wounds."

Chang Wufei, the pilot of the green dragon-like Gundam, Altron, countered. A young man of Chinese descent, heralded from the famous Long clan as a prodigy, many conflicts warred in his heart: his own integrity, justice, the self-destruction of his clan, weakness, and personally, his battle with Treize Khushrenda. Although conflicted at the moment, he pushed back his thoughts to focus on Heero's endeavor. If one man he would love to fight one-on-one, Heero would be at the top.

As Wufei focused his attention back onto Wing Zero, a brown and tanned colored mobile suit appeared in front of Sandrock. Hovering in front of Quatre, the WMS-03 Maganac, piloted by Rashid Kurama, stroked his brown beard nervously. His top priority was returning Master Quatre to safety and health.

"I have to agree, Master Quatre. There's always a time and a place to act reckless, but at the moment, especially in your case, now is not the appropriate time," Rashid spoke, his deep voice held a sliver of worry.

"Not you too, Rashid," Quatre moaned, while rubbing his injured right side, the result of one Dorothy Catalonia.

"We got this all under control, buddy! Now go and get checked-up and then we can party with a bottle of champagne," Duo said assuredly, with a grin to boot.

A large, bulky, black Gundam hovered over to Sandrock. As impressive as ever, the immensity of the Deathschythe Hell was a work of art, as the late Professor G would state superiorly. Its large defensive cloak, colored in mostly black with some yellow and red tints held a strong durability against beam weapons; and though, the Gundam lacked range, it made up with its projectile buster shield. The pilot, a friendly youth of European American descent, Duo Maxwell, eagerly watched with growing anticipation the climax of the Eve Wars. His cobalt blue eyes excitedly narrowed in on Heero; Duo knew Heero was capable of this feat – what with surviving his own self-detonation, and jumping out of a 20-storied building or so without deploying his parachute correctly – Heero was a resilient man. Although, resetting his broken leg after his near-suicide fall still gave Duo the creeps.

"You too, Duo? I guess that's three against one," Quatre acquiesced slowly, with a shake of his head, "I'll be waiting for you guys off the battlefield. And by the way, Duo, no alcohol, please."

As Quatre and Rashid raced off the battlefield an ominous foreboding befell the platinum-haired youth.

He clenched his heart in pain.

_My body. My soul. I can't help but feel a portentous foreshadowing over my friends. Please be safe, comrades._

His thoughts ceased as oblivion overtook him.

* * *

Within the bright light, Heero transformed Wing Zero into Neo-Bird Mode, a high-speed flight mode reminiscent of a bird; its fire power halved. Satisfied with the destruction of Libra's breakaway part, he jettisoned out of Earth's atmosphere. Strangely, the bright light did not dissipate into the clear the black backdrop of space; instead, the light grew brighter. Worriedly, Heero amplified the boosters with more energy, hoping to exit the light but to no avail.

"Zero, what's going on?"

Asking the deadly ZERO (Zoning and Emotional Range Omitted) system, a combat computer interfaced that collects data and feeds it into the pilots mind in order to achieve ultimate victory, however, those that cannot control the mental and emotional strain go completely insane, Heero hoped that the system would provide him an answer. With great mental and emotional control over the system, Heero mastered the system, although he had to control his emotions wisely on the battlefield less Zero take over. The cockpit's large main monitor glowed luminously yellow, but Zero did not answer, only acknowledged Heero's posed question.

Puzzled by the lack of confirmation, Heero called once more, but the result was the same: Zero did not answer. Heero engaged the control system, typing quickly into his keyboard as he tried to maneuver Zero upward, in hopes of exiting the white blanketed area. He froze. Eyes widened in shock. Not only was Zero not responding, but the system was jammed; controls immovable; the stick and throttle useless; and then, the mobile suit started to shake uncontrollably.

"Zero! Damn it! Answer me," yelled Heero, as he was slammed violently into his circular interface, face pounding in pain; his hands splayed across his keyboard.

Gritting his teeth, he glanced at the main monitor. Zero stared. Its two feline-like olive eyes stared into his wary Prussian ones. A robotic voice spoke in his mind:

_Harden your resolve for a new battlefield. For the new era even greater tragedies will await you. Beware of Destiny's hidden hand. For the hand will tempt the Dragon._

A new battlefield?

More tragedies?

Destiny's hand and Dragon?

Surprised by Zero's cryptic warning, Heero did not get a chance to ponder the message because with a violent lurch from the mobile suit he smashed the back of his head against his headrest, blacking out entirely.

* * *

With the remaining pilots, there eager faces exploded in glee and relief as Heero destroyed the chunk of Libra.

"I never doubted Heero-buddy for a second!" Duo proclaimed loudly, pumping a fist in the air. Trowa watching Duo's display from his monitor grinned in amusement, joy reflecting in his green eyes. Wufei also sported a smile, his head nodding in amazement. The three pilots watched carefully for any sign of Heero to appear from out of the ball of blinding light. A few minutes clocked by with no sign of Heero or any sign of the orb of light dissipating.

Worriedly, Duo asked, "Do you guys' think–"

"No. Something's wrong," Trowa interrupted Duo, his eyes as intense and serious as ever.

_Something's definitely not right. The power from the explosion should have lessened considerably by now. It seems like its growing, but that can only mean_…

Quickly pressing the bottom half of a double-sided button in Heavyarms' interface, Trowa adjusted to Heero's frequency. He shouted, "Heero, can you read me? Pilot Heero Yuy? Heero Yuy?

Hearing the familiar sensation of gritty static noise, Trowa turned off the radio. Eyes shadowed, face obscured by the shadows of his cockpit, Trowa contemplated his next move. _A chain reaction,_ he questioned in his head, _entering it in its unstable form could prove deadly, but if it's just temporary, and Heero's still alive._ Then, in an instant, he gripped the controls, his emerald eyes narrowed; he knew what to do. With a roar from Heavyarms' engines, the mobile suit accelerated toward the cosmic ball of light, leaving Duo and Wufei baffled completely.

"Well now, shall we go after him? I get the feeling with an unresponsive Heero; Trowa might get into the same situation. Hell, we might get into the same situation," Duo asked. Watching Trowa enter the enigmatic ball of light from his main monitor, Duo glanced at Wufei.

"I'm already way ahead of you," Wufei remarked, his dark eyes determined.

Grinning slyly, Wufei gunned Altron's engines; the dragon-like mobile suit's eyes glowed eerily, anticipating its encounter with the ball of light. Wufei took off in a burst of blue light leaving an amused Duo trailing after him. As the remaining Gundam pilots entered the pulsing white orb, unbeknownst to their thoughts of rescuing their fellow pilot-in-arms, the thoughts of leaving their home world never struck their minds. The white orb shined intensely and increased its size before imploding violently with a large boom. With the white orb gone, an unnerving silence reigned throughout space; the four battled-wary soldiers vanished from existence.

* * *

An: And that's that! I always wanted to try my hand at fanfiction, and we'll see where it takes me. Please review! I would love for some critiques or any additional help on my writing and content. Inspired by the author Operation Meteor.

I got some grand plans for these pilots. Thanks for reading.


	2. A Wary Alliance

An: Another chapter down. Read and Review!

Mobile suits: Altron Gundam (Tv Version), Heavyarms (Tv Version), Deathscythe Hell (Tv Version), Wing Zero (Tv Version)

Chapter 2: A Wary Alliance

In the wee hours of morning an explosive boom echoed and shook the silent desert dunes of North Africa. Large chunks of sand shifted from its rolling hills, falling like waves over four large objects cratered into the ground. Nestled in the sand, four battered and damaged Gundams laid motionless; their bodies slowly sinking into the sand. Flat on its back, sunken into the sand, the orange, red, and white colored Gundam, Heavyarms, slid down a small hill smashing into the desert ground with a thud. Sand quickly covered its armaments ̶ a machine cannon hidden in its clavicle armor, homing missiles stored within its closed shoulders, two pods containing four out of 12 micro missiles mounted on its legs, a powerful chest double beam Gatling cannon, a double beam Gatling Gun mounted on its left arm attached underneath to a red shield, and a concealed short army knife ̶ weighing the Gundam down into the sand.

The Gundam's pilot, Trowa Barton, awakened groggily; his head came to his hands as he choked back a moan. He definitely should not have charged into the unstable white orb recklessly. Pain subsiding, his green eyes focused slowly on his black screens. Restarting his Gundam, the screens flashed to life. Displayed on his monitors, he found to his surprise sand…and stars. Wasn't he in space? Something must have happened after he lost consciousness in space, reasoned Trowa, his green eyes closed in contemplation. Opening his eyes once again, he toggled at his controls to move Heavyarms. To his annoyance, he was stuck completely and totally in the sand. Sighing in frustration, he opened his cockpit to the stars above, and hopped on to the white Gundanium plate between the Gundam's legs. Looking across the large sand dunes, he spotted a black figure near the buried Altron Gundam. The figure was sitting atop a sand dune gazing up at the sea of stars.

"Wufei," Trowa shouted. The figure stood up and slid down the dunes to the Heavyarms. The figure's form became apparent as he stepped into the moonlight. Black hair tied into a small ponytail, the figure of a young man clad in black appeared. The form of Wufei met Trowa atop of the Heavyarms.

"You're finally up," Wufei commented, his black space suit ̶ also worn by the other pilots' ̶ dirty from dust. Trowa nodded his head in affirmation, looking at the partially buried Deathscythe Hell. The two stood in a moment of silence before Wufei continued.

"Any idea of how we crashed into the Earth?" he muttered quietly. Trowa shrugged; he would not deny that he too was curious of their astounding situation.

Hearing a slight noise from the black, open cloaked Gundam, the two Gundam pilots turned their attention to the black cockpit, anticipating Duo's appearance. The Gundam's black wings stuck out keeping the Gundam partially buried on its side, but its cockpit above the sand. Duo's sudden appearance was marked by a fit of laughter from Wufei and a slight smile adorning Trowa's face as he tumbled out of his mobile suit, falling face-first into the crunchy sand. Sputtering curses and spitting out bits of sand, Duo stood up slowly, a little disorientated from his fall. Hearing barking laughter ahead of him, his yes lighted with delight as he recognized two familiar faces. Duo ran across the hilly dunes to join his comrades.

"Not cool, Wufei," Duo said, his brown braided hip-length hair sprinkled with sand. He surveyed carefully the sand dunes, recognizing the dune formations. "So, we're in the Sahara Desert, huh," Duo announced suddenly. Two heads looked at him inquiringly.

"How do you know that?" Wufei asked skeptically, his laughter subsiding.

Duo smiled nostalgically, remembering his days with Quatre and the Maganac corps. "I remember studying different types of deserts after the debacle in Siberia." He shrugged. "Judging by the desert sand formations, these are siefs or linear dunes. They have straight ridges formed by trade winds." Duo pointed at the straight ridges in the disrupted sand.

"They're mostly common in the Sahara Desert and in central Australia's Simon Desert," Duo finished a slight smile on his face. "But enough about that, where's are immortal leader?" Duo said, looking for a head of wavy brown hair and cold Prussian blue eyes.

"Still unconscious perhaps," Wufei said nonchalantly. His eyes glued to the stationary Wing Zero. Wufei hoped that when Heero awakened he would get answers into their situation before he headed off on his own now that all enemies were defeated. Not that he liked the comradeship of his fellow pilots, but he chose to do things alone.

"He's unconscious in the _Wing Zero_?! I don't know Wufei, the Zero could be messing with his mind," Duo responded worriedly.

Experiencing the hallucination effects first-hand by the Zero System, Duo knew the dangers of piloting that monstrosity. In addition, the death of the Oz soldier Lieutenant Trant from data overload and insanity still shook Duo to his core. Hell, they all knew risks of piloting the Zero.

"Not if it's off," Trowa added quietly, jumping off his Gundam and landing silently on the soft sand with a dancer's grace. He walked toward the Wing Zero intent on waking Heero. Treading after the green-eyed pilot, Duo and Wufei remained silent both lost in their thoughts about their current situation.

* * *

In Wing Zero's darkened cockpit, slumped over in his seat, Heero Yuy dreamed. He dreamed of remorse and regret:

_The light from the sky shone bright as a young boy leaped over a tall grey fence. He sprinted forward across a green field, purposefully tumbling on his back, dirtying his green tank top and black shorts. He laughed; a laugh of joy and relief bellowed from his mouth. He did it! The first stage of the mission was a success! He successfully infiltrated and planted mines across the Earth Alliance base behind him in broad daylight. His laughter stopped as soon as the artificial clouds drifted apart revealing the colony's metallic ceiling. _

_"Are you lost?" a voiced asked. _

_Blocking the youth's vision, a young girl with blond hair, dressed in a white sun dress with matching shoes and hat, looked at the boy pointedly, her smile wide._

_"I've been lost since the day I was born," he said sorrowfully, looking across the field. The boy had been lost since his inception; his parents and name unknown. As if the to cheer the boy up, the girl's brown-haired dog jumped playfully on his person, its tail wagging in happiness._

_Taking notice of the boy's frown the young girl gave him a yellow flower to cheer him, her smile brilliant. "I'll give you this flower. Keep it," she smiled, as her dog, Mary, began to drag her off into the city._

_Looking at the yellow flower, the boy puzzled over her gift. If he was honest with himself, this was possibly his first gift ever; even possibly the first ounce of kindness he had received since his days with the assassin Odin Lowe. Smiling a bit he wondered if he could find a place he could call home far removed from fighting; then again, the battlefield was all that he knew. But, unfortunately, those conflicting thoughts would have to be put on hold, the mission came first. He dusted himself off, his eyes set for the coming night._

_In the quiet night of the colony, a series of detonations thundered in the Earth Alliance base. Blasts of fire erupted throughout the base, consuming the mobile suits and buildings alike in a fiery blaze. Two cold Prussian blue eyes overlooked the destruction, his eyes reflecting the burning carnage of the base. Only moments ago he had pressed the detonation button to trigger the explosions._

_"Mission complete," the boy said emotionlessly, turning to leave the burning wreckage. _

_However, to his utter shock a mishap occurred when a fallen green Leo – an alliance mass-produced humanoid mobile suit – detonated, toppling over another Leo suit. The suit fell backwards into the residential buildings, erupting into a fireball of hell. The boy was in shock; he had accidentally killed innocent civilians. How could he such an erroneous mistake the boy thought; he scrambled for cover as falling debris from the residential buildings smashed into the ground. _

_A short time later after the colony's rain system extinguished the rabid fires across the base and buildings, a young boy surveyed the wreckage. A heavy black smoke rose from the ruins as ash like snow fell gently upon the ground. It seemed as if the colony was crying black tears. Clutching the yellow flower tightly he walked across two familiar bodies, the little girl and her dog: her little white dress in tatters and stained in black soot; her puppy, Mary, burned severely. The boy collapsed to his knees as small specks of water landed on his clenched fists. When will casualties like these end he thought remorsefully, tears of regret stinging his eyes. _

_His own voice echoed repeatedly around him. "I've been lost since the day I was born." He looked at the yellow flower, his body remembering that one warm act of kindness._

_Another distinctive voice superseded his own voice, lecturing him cruelly on the dangers of emotion._

_"The feelings of kindness are unnecessary for a weapon. Now retrain him at once!" the voice of Dekim Barton, the head of Operation Meteor, thundered._

* * *

Heero opened his eyes slowly to the pitch black darkness of his cockpit. His head hurt like Hell. He massaged it gently, while trying to collect his thoughts. It had been awhile since he had _that_ dream. Why at this moment, he thought. Was he still lost? Did his battles not end with Libra? Heero was unsure of his place in the greater world without war.

"A warrior without at a home except on the battlefield," he muttered dispassionately as he regained his thoughts. The last thing he remembered was he just blew up a large remnant of Libra.

Libra?!

Blue eyes widened in recognition; he restarted his Gundam, electronic noises buzzing to life. His monitors' glowed yellow as the Zero System rebooted; the circular map in front of him emanated blue light, highlighting the tips of his messy brown bangs. A clear image of the surrounding area appeared on his front screen.

"A desert?" he thought aloud. The last time he checked he was in space – more presumably the Earth's atmosphere. How in the world did he arrive on Earth let alone in a vast desert?

"Where are we Zero?" Heero grunted. He checked his systems for any abnormalities, pulling up files from the Gundam's operation system. The monitor glowed again.

"New battlefield?"

What did Zero mean new battlefield. Didn't the war end, or were there more skirmishes on the Earth. His mind racing he thought of the blinding light inside the explosion of Libra's remnant. As he recalled Zero said the same thing. _Am I destined for more battles_; he contemplated silently, his head resting against his seat.

The sound of heavy footsteps caught his attention as he saw three figures approaching his mobile suit. The moon and starlight revealed Duo Maxwell, Chang Wufei, and Trowa Barton. Heero paused. How in the world did they arrive here too? Eyes hardening, he opened his cockpit, set on defining their new situation.

* * *

"Well, well, well, it looks like sleeping beauty has awoken from his beauty sleep," Duo jested, his eyes gleaming with amusement as he and the other pilots met Heero at arm's length.

Heero glanced at Duo in disinterest; it seemed some things still remained the same, especially Duo's odd personality. Ignoring Duo's jab, Heero noted Trowa's and Wufei's keen gazes. Trowa's face remained impassive but his eyes held a softness of relief. In contrast, Wufei stood proudly, his eyes piercing into Heero's blue ones. A brief stand-off passed between the two before he addressed the group.

"So it would seem that you all followed me into the light," he deduced, his hands crossed. "What happened while I was unconscious? As I recall, a white light engulfed the Wing Zero after the blast emitting abnormal peculiarities, freezing my Gundam," Heero stated, omitting Zero's cryptic message. He was not sure of the realities of the message, less the chance of it happening right away.

Trowa nodded his head, his right hand caressing his chin in thought. "We took after you when we received no response from contact. I'm pretty sure a chain reaction occurred between your twin buster rifle and that large obstruction. A glowing white orb appeared after the collision. At that moment, it seemed as if you had already lost consciousness," Trowa posited.

"In an interesting turn of developments, we landed here, in this arid desert. One question remains: how did we get here without dying? Our Gundams can survive falling through the atmosphere because of its strong Gundanium alloy and high impact tolerance, but free-falling without any parachutes or boosters to slow our drive should have killed us on impact."

A brief breeze passed by the Gundam pilots, their hair rippling in the silence. "You got me?" Wufei shrugged, coming to the same conclusion. This whole ordeal felt unusual. From space to Earth in a blink of an eye, this situation weighed heavily on the Gundam pilots minds.

"Did the Wing Zero say anything, Heero?" Wufei questioned, hoping to gain more information from the stoic Gundam pilot.

"Not a thing," Heero lied, unsure of the Gundam's response. He needed more factual information before he theorized their predicament. Assumptions lead to mistakes, one of his mottos, each strategy had to be thoroughly analyzed before implementing an operation.

"I guess even Gundam's can have attitudes," Duo joked, trying to lighten up the tense atmosphere.

"You're right." Heero nodded subtly. "Anyway, doing nothing won't get us closer to the truth." Looking at the sand covered Gundams Heero formalized a plan.

"Duo, help pull Trowa's and Wufei's Gundams out of the sand, I'd rather not die here in this empty wasteland without finding some form of civilization. Once pulled out, recalibrate your machines' balancing mechanisms to account for the density of the sand."

"Sure thing man, but what about you," Duo asked as the Gundam pilots made their way back to their Gundams respectively.

"I need to test out Wing Zero's mobile suit mode to see if any damages affected its transformation abilities during impact," Heero supplied his eyes roaming across Zero's torso.

Inside the Zero's cockpit, Heero watched as Duo's Gundam shifted across the sand turning on its front. The black Gundam yanked its trapped left hand up, while using its right for stability. Righting itself up, the Deathscythe Hell proceeded to extricate the Altron and Heavyarms from their sunken states. Sand poured off the Gundams' bodies in waves, coating the desert surface in new mounds.

The Wing Zero warmed its engines slowly, the mobile suit hovering from its stationary resting place. Sand drifted off its surface, as Heero gained more height. He then blasted forward into the air, transforming in midflight; a loud grinding of metal screeched as it contorted. Although shaky, the transformation was a success. Heero landed, the Zero's legs balancing atop the sand with its new adjustments to the operating system.

"Ready when you are, buddy," Duo said, popping up on Heero's on screen; he and the other Gundams waited idly for their next move.

"Let's go," Heero ordered, shifting his controls up upward, he took flight. In a gush of wind, the Gundams blasted through the desert, kicking up sand and dust from their departure.

The Gundams flew across the desert in a streak of blue, their vernier thrusters jetting blasts of blue light.

* * *

Large black shadows accelerated above the wispy yellow sand dunes of the Sahara Desert, their engines humming in the silence of the predawn hours. The Wing Zero took the lead, followed by the dragon-like Altron taking the rear; Heavyarms and the Deathscythe Hell remained on the outside, paralleling each other.

Several large explosions thundered in the distance, smoke billowing from burning piles of sand. A battle raged under the morning stars.

Halting their pace, Heero landed behind a large sand dune; he zoomed in on the desert battlefield.

"A battle?! I thought the E.S.U.N sent most – if not all – of their forces and weapons to space?" Duo cried, landing next to Heero. Wufei and Trowa touched the ground lightly besides the two Gundam pilots, their eyes narrowed on the battlefield.

During the build up for the final battle of the Eve Wars, the E.S.U.N. commanded by Treize Khushrenada, sent most their resources to their closest resource satellite in space, preparing for a massive offensive against the White Fang. The resource satellite M.O. 2 served as the command post and construction yard for the E.S.U.N.'s forces. All available pilots and mobile suits should have been in space at this very moment.

"They did, according to reports," Trowa agreed. "However, something strange is going on."

A few kilometers away a lone white mobile suit and its large white battleship, outnumbered, were battling against six agile purple hound-like mobile suits and a swarm of helicopters. The unknown mobile suit's color scheme consisted of a blue and red chest frame; and on its right shoulder mounted a green combo weapons pod; in its left hand held a long green beam cannon.

Using search eye – a data gathering unit utilized to calculate movement and mark points specific to a machine – Heero pulled up the equipment specs for the lone mobile suit. The ballistic-styled mobile suit was equipped with a green 320mm. hyper impulse beam cannon, and a green weapons pod containing multi-barreled 120mm. anti-ship Vulcan gun and a pair of 350mm. gun launchers. The most peculiar design of the mobile suit was its head; it was shaped like a Gundam. Was this Treize's latest project? Heero wasn't surprised when Duo and Wufei voiced their own speculations.

"A new Gundam? Do you think it's a new E.S.U.N. mass-produced model?" Duo speculated, his eyes roaming the suits components on one of his screens.

"Possibly, but all of Treize's forces were centralized in space around M.O. 2," Wufei argued_. Were there still remnants of White Fang battling the E.S.U.N. on Earth _Wufei questioned mentally, his hands tightly gripping his joysticks.

"Heero, should we assist them," Trowa asked suddenly.

"Let's wait for an opportune moment to interfere. Going out now would create more chaos on the battlefield, and I'd rather know _why_ there's a new Gundam on the battlefield than risk destroying it in the process," Heero said matter-of-factly. "Besides, I want to see what this mobile suit can do."

The Gundam pilots remained stationary and vigilant as the so-called Gundam battled desperately to protect the white battleship. Nevertheless, they were not the only ones with an interest in the new mobile suit.

* * *

Standing on top of his brown jeep, a brown-haired man watched the battle unfold a few kilometers away from the white battleship. A smile adorned his face, but his blue eyes were like a tiger's: predatory; even his sideburns gave him a feral appearance. He watched in fascination and awe as the G-weapon, the X-105 Strike battle against his soldiers of BuCUEs and helicopters. His second-in-command Martin DaCosta watched from his seat, ready to relay orders from his commander if need be.

"The battle is shaping up wonderfully," Commander Waltfeld said, his eyes never leaving from his binoculars. "The pilot was able to calculate and adjust to the density of the desert sand. Amazing. Although," he said with a frown, "I doubt the pilot is a Natural; that kind of reaction to the movement of the BuCUEs is unnatural."

A gust of wind blew into the two soldiers faces as the G-unit destroyed one of his soldiers, at point blank range to the mobile suit's belly with its 320mm. beam launcher. A large area of smoke billowed from wreckage.

"DaCosta, have 10 more BuCUEs on standby and launch the Lesseps main cannon. Target: Archangel," he declared as a jet launched from the legged-ship. The unknown jet was met with a grim frown; _that was not part of Intel_, he thought.

The battle continued as a camouflaged land battleship, a few kilometers removed from the battlefield, launched six shots of powerful, yellow light into the air from one of its grey 40cm. dual cannons situated on its right "leg".

"What will your reaction be "big angel" and the pilot of the Strike," Waltfeld remarked, a sly grin covered his face as his green military cloak flapped in the wind.

"Don't keep me waiting."

* * *

Kira Yamato, the pilot of the Strike, was having a tough time. Scratch that, Kira Yamato was having a very tough time dealing with the Zaft's persistent hound-like mobile suits, the BuCUEs. The light brown-haired youth had already destroyed one of them in a powerful attack using his "Agni" beam launcher, creating a fiery blast. Using his verniers, he hovered back as missiles just missed his mobile suit's legs. Sand covering his vision from the explosion, he jettisoned up, finding a BuCUE gliding across the sandy dunes like ice. The "Agni" roared, launching red death at the mobile suit; it dodged agilely the shot, hiding behind a large sand dune.

Kira gritted his teeth, his body covered in sweat. Another wave of missiles from some surrounding helicopters attacked his back. He used his 20mm. anti-ship Vulcan gun as he turned swiftly, eliminating the weapons in a fiery blaze. However, he did not notice a stray BuCUE with an empty missile launcher mounted on its back tackle him into the desert's surface.

"Take that," the Zaft grunt yelled as the Strike tumbled down the sandy dunes. Heavy missile fire rained down on the Strike, its body shaking under the intense pressure.

Kira grunted, holding his controls for dear life as the missiles shook his mobile suit.

"I-I have to protect them," he managed out, remembering his friends on the Archangel, and his affair with the red-haired beauty, Flay Allster, whom was waiting for him to return alive. Memory of her soft hands holding him tightly as they made love, the feeling of being treasured and protected emboldened his resolve.

The Strike dove to the side of a large sand dune as missiles erupted from his previous spot. Kira used his Vulcans to spray into the swarm of helicopters, dispersing them. Taking advantage of the Strike's lack of attention, a BuCUE attacked its back, hoping to damage the Strike's engines. Fortunately, Kira's sensors signaled the incoming attack. He ducked as the BuCUE hovered over him and grabbing his combat knife from his right hip, Kira drove it into the underside of the machine; it exploded on impact in a torrent of smoke.

Blinded by the explosion Kira missed a wave of cannon fire striking the Archangel.

* * *

The white four legged battleship, the Archangel, shuddered violently as yellow shells exploded across its body damaging port side sections of the ship and parts of its engines. The crew inside the bridge centered at the bow held on to their seats as the ship quaked under impact. The ship's captain and Earth forces Lt. Commander, Murrue Ramius, gripped her seat tightly as her body swayed with the shaking; her generous breasts bouncing with the intense vibrations.

"Damage," she yelled, her eyes focused on the on the battlefield ahead of her.

"The port bow suffers damages; engine #3 is fluctuating slightly," an officer responded.

Murrue's kind brown eyes were intense as she stared through the windows of the bridge; she worried for her crew. With the constant bombardment from enemy fire from helicopters and the shelling of large projectiles from an unknown source, she wondered if they could make it out alive. A normally kind-hearted woman, Murrue became an effective and calm commander in the heat of battle. This battle was not taken any differently. She wore a white uniform of a commanding officer with a red collar and shoulder pads.

"Four incoming missiles approaching from port side and additional five coming from the starboard quarter," yelled an officer from the CIC.

"Evade!" commanded Murrue, her hands gripping her seat.

"Shoot the projectiles down. Fire 'Igelstellungs'!" the Combat Commander, Natarle Badgiruel, shouted from the Combat Information Center: a lowered area filled with controls to the Archangel's weaponry, radar and sonar maps, and other equipment; situated on the left of the captain's seat.

Natarle's purple eyes glared at the screen; her short black hair covered from her officer's hat shifted from the extreme shaking of the battleship. A by-the-book woman, her battle prowess and tactical analyst kept the Archangel from further damage.

The white battleship with a red hull reared backwards dodging missile projectiles; its "Igelstellungs" – 75mm Automatic Multi-Barrel CIWS located on both sides of it athwart ship and outboard – destroyed the incoming missiles, but another salvo struck the ship.

"Another wave of cannon fire coming," yelled an officer, his eyes wide with fear.

"Shoot it down," Natarle commanded, looking at Romero Pal, responsible for the ships fire control system.

"But we can't! This ship is not armed for that capability," he stated nervously, his eyes anxious from Natarle's cold glare.

The ship's crew watched with growing anticipation, ready to brace their seats, as six powerful shells closed in quickly. However, on the desert battlefield Kira took on the flying cannon fire with his own piloting moves.

* * *

Escaping a barrage of missiles, the Strike glided across the desert. Kira countered more missiles with his own Vulcan guns; the spray of beams destroying them. His alarms blared red. Another wave of cannon fire soared through air targeting the Archangel.

"I won't let you harm my friends," he yelled, a purple seed bursting in his deep consciousness, expanding his awareness. Moving his body to its full capabilities in his mobile suit, he created a smokescreen with the sand by shooting his Vulcans at the desert dunes. The Strike jumped trying to gain a better position when a BuCUE tried to catch the Strike off-guard.

Kira narrowed his purple eyes; he punched the approaching BuCUE into one of the cannon projectiles, igniting the machine in a fiery blast. In less than a second, Kira pressed the trigger three times firing blasts of red beams at the projectiles; the stream of linear red beams flashed throughout the sky creating a deadly barrier where the projectiles exploded on impact.

A series of yellow and orange explosive lights shined like the sun from the collision of the two blasts. Kira's show of expert piloting left the crew of the Archangel and Zaft forces in shock and awe.

_What's got in into you_, _Kira_, Murrue thought as she stood from her seat. The bridge was speechless from Kira's resolve, eyes widened in disbelief.

Even Zaft had to hand it to the pilot for his quick maneuvers. Commander Waltfeld's blue eyes glared at the Strike.

"No. He's definitely no Natural," Waltfeld murmured, his right hand clenching his binocular. Waltfeld had met some astounding pilots in his days fighting the Earth Alliance during the North African campaign, but only a few Natural pilots could pull off something like that.

"Incredible reflexes, pinpoint accuracy, and a stunning use of weaponry," he smiled. "But our fun must come to an end, pilot of the X-105 Strike. You should be low on power by now," Waltfeld analyzed, looking at a pad of the Strike's stats and power system.

"Eradicate it."

* * *

Kira readied his green beam launcher, preparing to strike at a visible BuCUE when his alarms sounded. Looking at the Strike's power module, he noted worriedly of its decreasing energy.

"Damn it! I've used too much energy." Kira gazed across his screen at the three hungry BuCUEs circling around him, eagerly waiting for a slip up.

"Ain't so tough now, Natural!" A BuCUE jumped eagerly ready smash into him.

With an angry expression he blocked the BuCUE, using his right shoulder shield to push away the machine. Taking a knife from his left hip he was about attack the fallen machine but two missiles caught him unaware. The Gundam fell into the desert sand from the impact.

The crew of the Archangel watched on desperate to help the fallen mobile suit.

"Kira! Move forward and launch a wave of missiles to protect him," Murrue ordered.

"Negative. The Strike's Phase Shift armor is at a critical low, firing at the enemy could be disastrous to the mobile suit," Natarle argued, her purple eyes narrowed on the Strike.

Murrue clenched her hands. How could she protect Kira without wasting time?

The crew watched with baited breath as Zaft enclosed on the Strike.

Kira observed Zaft as they surrounded him, noting the helicopters preparing for another round of missiles. As he gripped his controls to move the Strike, a stray missile hit an approaching helicopter. It exploded in a fiery blast. More missiles approached from a distance, gusting up a smokescreen of sand as they impacted the desert dunes the three BuCUEs stood on. He was saved.

"What?" he questioned.

Purple eyes widening in surprise, Kira watched with apprehension as missile trucks and jeeps passed by his position. A jeep in particular driven by a brown haired-boy with dark tanned skin, and a determined blonde passenger pulled up beside his leg. The young woman attached a communication device to the Strike's leg.

"If you want to live, you'll do exactly as I say. There is a trap further into the desert; it should be appearing on your map. Lure those BuCUEs there and we'll do the rest," a female robotic voice echoed.

Detaching the device, they drove off to the trap, the Gundam and its predators not too far behind. Veering toward a cliff, the blonde teenager watched with intensity as the Strike jumped towards the intended trap.

"Their biting…," the brown-haired youth said to his companion.

"…Because of the irresistible bait. Now we're the hunters," the blonde responded, her hair flapping in the wind. They parked at a cliff overlooking their trap.

"I guess I got to trust them," Kira said, approaching the trap. He jumped further away from the signaled target, waiting for the prey to arrive.

"We got you now!" The three approaching BuCUEs slowly walked towards the Gundam, impatiently waiting for the kill.

The blond teenager with a victorious smile pressed the first button on the detonation device. The desert sand surrounding the BuCUEs exploded, pulling them into the sinking sand. Pressing the second button caused the trapped BuCUEs to be swallowed up into massive explosion. An enormous mushroom-shaped cloud erupted from the hole, sending a small shockwave across the desert.

Kira and the crew of the Archangel watched the effects of the detonation in awe. The only one not amazed observed the annihilation of his soldiers from his jeep.

Commander Waltfeld gazed impassively, his mind readying for the next stage.

"Send out the 10 BuCUEs; the first five to the Archangel and the other half toward the Strike and our little rebel friends, the Desert Dawn," he ordered_. Good game legged ship, but your demise is at hand_, he thought.

"Target the Archangel's bridge with another barrage from the Lesseps' main cannon. Incinerate it," Waltfeld commanded his blue eyes deadly.

* * *

A blue streak flew in the blue dawn surveying the land battleship. The pilot wearing a purple and black suit frowned, his blue eyes shocked from the large armed machine. _That's the Lesseps! That means – man, oh man, the Desert Tiger is bearing his fangs_, thought the blond-haired man, piloting away as the Lesseps shot another wave of projectiles from one of its main cannons.

_I have to warn the Archangel_, he thought quickly.

On the bridge of the Archangel, Murrue was thoroughly analyzing the new situation. Seems like resistance fighters had come to their rescue. _As grateful as I am for their assistance of the Strike, what was there motive,_ she thought aptly. Her brown eyes surveyed their pummeled trucks and jeeps as they gathered around the Strike.

"Who are they," Natarle asked, watching the fighters carefully from the ship's window.

"Resistance fighters," Murrue declared her hands in her lap.

"Resistance fighters," The crew questioned aloud.

"Incoming message from Lt. Commander Mu La Flaga: I have encountered one of Zaft's patrol ships, the Lesseps. I repeat: I have encountered a Lesseps. A wave of cannon fire is headed your way. Prepare for impact. I'm on my way back," Miriallia Haw read verbatim, the short, light brown-haired girl's turquoise eyes filled with trepidation. Her relayed message was met with a slight shock as the crew readily engaged themselves for the coming bombardment.

"A Lesseps?! The Desert Tiger is here?" Murrue gasped.

How long before impact?"

"About 20 seconds, captain." Murrue gritted her teeth. "Evade!"

"It's going to be close, Captain Ramius," said the blue-haired ship's pilot, Arnold Neumann, as he guided the Archangel to the side."

"Incoming mobile suits," Sai Argyle shouted worriedly from the CIC, afraid of the reinforcements.

"At least, five BuCUEs approaching us from 10 o'clock and another five moving towards the Strike," he called.

"We're not going to make it," an officer cried as he turned to look away.

Murrue narrowed her brown eyes, hoping for anything as six yellow shells loomed toward the bridge. She braced her seat's arms as her crew stared in fright waiting for their destruction.

But then an unknown mobile suit appeared…

* * *

The Desert Dawn gathered around the powered-down Strike. The pilot of the now gray mobile suit watched curiously as the gruff fighters stared at the large machine. Panting heavily the Gundam pilot tried to slow his erratic breathes by inhaling and exhaling large gulps of air. Sweat covered his forehead as well as his whole body. The battle was tough work. Closing his eyes in relaxation, he allowed himself a break. The battle was finally over, or so he thought.

Red alarms blared as an incoming projectiles flashed across his monitors. In addition, five BuCUEs raced rapidly to his location.

"Damn it! They just keep coming," he yelled. Thinking quickly he brought his 320mm. beam launcher into position and pulled the trigger; only to forget that he ran out of power!

"The Archangel, no!"

Kira and the Desert Dawn watched in slow motion as yellow fires of death speeded closer to his friends, feeling powerless to stop it.

* * *

"Not too shabby job," Duo said as he watched the three BuCUEs fall into the trap from the Gundam pilots' hidden location. "The pilot's definitely got some skill – what with his quick reactions toward those cannon projectiles. Too bad about the battery power though, he could have really turned things up if he wasn't on empty."

"He's fighting with an intensity to protect his ship," Trowa commented, the Heavyarms taking a knee behind the sand dune. "He has courage even if his skills are amateurish; he'll go far if he survives future battles."

Wufei snorted. "Courage he may have, but he was too emotional on the battlefield. I'm surprised those purple hound-like suits did not capitalize when he was down. He made a serious mistake: he wasted too much time trying to shoot at those sand-gliding units instead of predicting their movement pattern."

"Wufei's right; he wasted too much time and energy." Heero paused, closing his eyes in contemplation as the Zero system fed information into his mind. Heero opened his smoldering blue eyes and continued. "And now, the pilot and its comrades will pay the price: they'll be annihilated," he declared as a large number of BuCUEs and cannon fire speeded across the desert.

"Fortunately for the so-called Gundam, we're here to stop them. Zero believes that this course is the right decision for the long-run. Even I admit that I, too, am curious of the capabilities of this new Gundam and its ship." In all his years of fighting, Heero had never seen a white battleship as the one zoomed in on his screen; its artillery magnificent as well as dangerous.

"So…we picked a side," Trowa stated, gearing up the Heavyarms; his hands typing away on his computer. _I'm half empty on my missiles, but my upgraded beam weaponry should more than make up for my fire power_, Trowa thoughtfully mused.

"Fine with me," Wufei replied, cracking his neck in anticipation.

"We're beginning things with a bang! Let's crash the desert party," Duo agreed with an infectious smile.

"Let's begin the new mission, Operation: Lightning, start!" Heero yelled, as the Gundams departed with a rush.

* * *

As the Archangel prepared for impact, a white, orange, and red colored mobile suit blurred in front of the Archangel's screens. The mysterious mobile suit triple flipped its way onto the desert battlefield, landing in a horse stance in front of the ship's bow. Opening its chest armaments it revealed a double beam chest Gatling gun, while positioning its shielded double beam Gatling gun on its left arm at the flying shells. Locked onto the six cannon projectiles, Trowa unleashed an intense torrent of energy. The flurry of beams hit their targets at pinpoint accuracy and precision lighting up sky with miniature suns.

Astounded by the mobile suit's feat, the Archangel's bridge was shocked into silence. Their faces amazed by the sheer power and accuracy of the unknown mobile suit. The silence was broken when crewman 2nd class Kuzzey Buzkirk spoke in amazement.

"That was so cool. I thought we were gone for sure," his head shaking in wonder.

Snapping out of her funk Murrue narrowed her brown eyes. _That mobile suit looks like a G-unit_, she thought as her eyes drifted across the unknown machine.

"Crewman 2nd class Argyle report," Murrue commanded.

"The mobile suit is not registered in the Archangel; it's even not registering in the Earth Alliance database!" He paused in shock. "It's not even showing up on the radar!"

"Should we treat it as an enemy, captain Ramius," Natarle spoke her voice shaky.

"Hold your fire," Murrue responded, her thoughts racing. _It's not registered in the Earth Alliance, but only Orb has the capabilities, at the moment, to build G-weapons. Are these official models, s_he pondered.

"Captain, the mobile suit is hailing us," Miriallia called.

"Put it on!" she roared, her hands clenching.

An audio line of the Gundam pilot's soft voice echoed throughout the bridge of the Archangel.

"You people seemed to be in a difficult situation. Don't worry; we haven't come to harm you. My comrades are already on the battlefield attacking the enemy, so it would be in your best interest not to target them." The voice paused. "Or else you'll meet a swift retaliation," the voice threatened coldly.

Some of the crew members gulped apprehensively afraid of the pilot's threat.

"Wait! Who are you?" Natarle demanded, hardening her voice.

"You'll find out shortly," the pilot said cryptically, cancelling communication.

The bridge was engulfed in silence as the unknown mobile suit headed towards Kira and Desert Dawn.

Murrue sighed, her hands in her hair. First resistance fighters and now unknown mobile suits, things just got wilder.

A flash of orange and yellow exploded a distanced away on the Archangel's port side.

"I want visual of that explosion. Now," Murrue ordered, her demeanor recomposed.

"What in the hell is that?" Arnold Neumann bellowed loudly with wide eyes.

Yes, things just got wilder.

* * *

Five BuCUEs ran hastily across the desert toward the Archangel.

"Time for payback, fucking Naturals," Umar Ba declared, the pack leader of his group. Before Umar could take another step, he crashed into something invisible, his machine falling on its side.

"What the hell?" he shouted as the group stopped behind his downed BuCUE.

Materializing out of thin air, an immense black machine appeared. Attached to the machine's back was its large black cloak tinted with red and white. The black suit remained immobile as the five BuCUEs and a swarm of helicopters surrounded it. They fired an extreme amount of ballistics at the stationary mobile suit. A fireball engulfed the black machine, scorching the desert sand a brilliant, molten red.

"Is that all you got, if so, prepare for Deathscythe's counterattack," Duo said smugly, a vicious grin apparent on his face.

The mobile suit's green eyes glowed maliciously as it opened its cloak; its double beam scythe ready for destruction.

"Here I come," Duo roared. The Deathscythe jetted toward its first kill. With a wide overhead slash the frozen BuCUE was obliterated. Not stopping his momentum the Deathscythe swung its scythe sideways leaving a trail of green of greens energy across two more BUCUEs, incinerating them in a brutal explosion.

Duo turned to the approaching helicopters, firing his Vulcan guns from the Gundam's head at them. Taking them out, he returned his attention on the two remaining BuCUEs. The two BuCUEs glided across the sand taking pot shots at the black mobile suit.

"Don't let him get too close to you, Rahul," a BuCUE pilot said as he launched multiple shots with his two railguns. "Attack him at a distance; he's a close combat type."

"Roger that, Jamie," Rahul confirmed, he launched more missiles at the devil mobile suit.

Duo dodged two yellow beams pulsing with electricity. A barrage of missiles came at him from 8 o'clock. He shot them down as another volley of beams headed toward him. Closing his front cloak, the beams were deflected easily. Predicting the movement of the railgun BuCUE, he shot towards its emergence from behind the sand dune. As yellow beams deflected harmlessly against the Gundam's anti-beam cloak, Duo slashed the BuCUE into pieces.

"Damn you, monster," Rahul yelled.

This was not supposed to happen: their goal was to eliminate the weakened Strike and battleship, while their defenses were down, and end the Archangel. Why in the world did a new G-weapon appear at this time? Was there intelligence wrong? Did the legged ship have an extra card up her sleeve? Rahul did not know. He had finally climbed his way into the Desert Tiger's pack after his hard-fought campaign against the Eurasian forces last month. And now, he was about to die against a black devil.

The pilot gritted his teeth; he had to warn the Commander Waltfeld of a powerful new mobile suit.

"This is Rahul Totas of the Archangel Retaliation group. I have encountered a powerful mobile suit at point – argh!" His hands went to protect his face as the black Gundam sliced across his cockpit, destroying his body.

"You all are going to die," Duo said grimly. The Deathscythe Hell stood in silence as the red flames of its newest victim reflected against its armor. "I wonder how Wufei's handling the situation."

* * *

Kira and the resistance fighters watched in awe as an unknown mobile suit triple flipped into view, unloading its armaments at the cannon fire after its landing.

"Incredible," Kira muttered. He thought for sure Archangel would be goners, destroyed in a fiery explosion. _Is he an enemy_, the Gundam pilot wondered, _or an ally_?

Kira readied his "Agni"; even if he was out of power, he could still use the launcher as a makeshift melee weapon. The five BuCUEs approached quickly, hungrily waiting for their deaths. Analyzing their specs, the incoming BuCUEs were heavily armed: three carrying missile launchers and two more with railguns.

"Shit," he blurted. If they launch a full out attack here, the guerilla fighters will be annihilated. Turning on the Gundam's voice system, he yelled: "Everyone get out of here! If they launch their arsenals there's no telling what can happen to you!"

The Desert Dawn scrambled to get back into their vehicles. But, it was too late: the enemy launched an onslaught of missiles at them.

Clenching his teeth, Kira positioned himself in front of the resistance fighters, ready to take the brunt of the attack. However, a blaze of red fire intercepted the missiles. They were saved!

"You shouldn't have letdown your guard like that. A moment of slight hesitation on the battlefield could have ended your life. Be grateful Nataku was here."

Typing furiously, Kira located the source of the fire. On his left screen his camera caught a red-chested Gundam decorated in green, and white: its scale-like shoulders were painted in green, white, red, and gold. On its left shoulder adorned a red and gold short shield; two dragon fangs were mounted to its arms; and its face looked like a wild dragon.

"A Gundam?" Kira blinked in confusion. Weren't there only five G-weapons? Was this a new Earth Alliance mobile suit? Kira narrowed his purple eyes on the dragon-like Gundam.

"I've never seen any machine like that," Kira muttered quietly.

Wufei gripped his controls as the herd of BuCUEs came closer. "Now then Nataku let's show them your power," he said. In a burst of blue light Nataku accelerated to the machines; the Gundam's double-sided green trident engaged.

"Incoming moving mobile suit, BuCUEs spread…" In an instant, the BuCUE exploded as the Altron rammed its trident into the machine's head. Quickly moving to his next opponent, Wufei slashed across its head. As his back was turned, an airborne BuCUE tried to tackle his blind spot.

Wufei smirked. "You got do better than that if you want to defeat me."

Adjusting his grip the Altron pulled his trident backwards skewering his enemy. In a matter of seconds the Altron completely annihilated three BuCUEs. The last two missile launcher BuCUEs kept their distance. The unknown Gundam had too much power.

"Johnny, can you hear me?" A BuCUE pilot called to his last remaining comrade.

"Yeah," Johnny replied warily.

"Launch all your missiles at it and then run. I'll cover your escape."

"But Mikael, we got to –"

"No buts! That's an order! We have to save all data and images of our battle to headquarters in hopes of bringing this monster down," Mikael said, preparing his missiles. "Do it now!"

A purple blur launched its remaining missiles at the unknown G-weapon hoping to get its attention. Wufei dodged the ballistics easily as he spotted the now departing BuCUE.

"Your fight is with me!" The grunt said as his BuCUE dashed forward. He jumped at the Gundam, preparing for sudden death. "I'm taking you to hell! For Zaft!"

The nameless grunt self-detonated his mobile suit just as the Altron's trident pierced its underside. Hellish fire engulfed the Altron. A large black mushroom cloud erupted in the desert followed by its thunderous shockwave. The chain reaction from the BuCUE's Ultracompact Energy Battery and its remaining missiles created a deadly explosion.

Watching the one-sided battle from the sidelines Kira stared in amazement. It had taken him over an hour to defeat three of them where this unknown suit had defeated the same number in mere seconds. He clenched his fists in anger; he had to become stronger. The Archangel and his friends depended on him, Flay depended on him.

A large eruption engulfed the mobile suit as the Strike covered its face from the blast of wind.

"What happened?" Kira zoomed in on the battle. _An eruption that large shouldn't have happened,_ he thought his mind racing.

As large black smoke spewed from the wreckage, a black shadow appeared; the shadow's green eyes glowing dangerously. The mobile suit surged out of the smoke unharmed and sped after the lone BuCUE.

Nearing the Lesseps, the BuCUE's pilot Johnny sighed in relief. He almost made it. Turning his radio on, he made contact with the battleship. He could not believe a dangerous mobile suit like that existed.

"Lesseps, do you read me? I got…" Johnny managed those last words as a green trident pierced his cockpit, exploding his machine into thousands of pieces.

"Such cowardly intentions," Wufei remarked as his Gundam hovered over the BuCUE's smoking wreckage. He sped back towards the Strike, intent on waiting for the remaining Gundam pilots, in a show of blue streaks. In the sky another Gundam pilot was about accomplish his mission: destroying the Lesseps.

* * *

The light from the morning sun lit the sky a brilliant blue. Mu La Flaga would have remarked of this occurrence if his situation had not been so dire. Flying back from his observation of the land battleship, the Lesseps, he noticed the ruins of multiple machines in the desert. His blue eyes narrowed. The Strike did not make those.

New mobile suits speeded across the desert in flashes of blue light. _Where did those come from? Why are they helping us_, he questioned mentally, his blue eyes observing the battlefield. A red alarm beeped in his cockpit. He narrowly dodged a blurring white mobile suit; its green human-like eyes glowing.

"Whew. Now that was close," he said, sighing in relief. "It's headed toward Lesseps?"

Taking a leap of faith Mu La Flaga turned the jet around to follow the unknown mobile suit. _The Gundam looks similar to Kira's_, La Flaga thought, _but its huge wings remind me of a bird_.

"What are you going to do, birdy?" The Gundam was in range of the Lesseps' artillery. In a display of expert piloting, the mobile suit performed incredible aerial maneuvers as the Lesseps barraged it with anti-aircraft fire. The morning sky thundered with explosions. Mu La Flaga could not get any closer.

"That's some piloting," he stated. The Gundam danced around artillery shells and missiles until it found a position to retaliate. Positioning its beam rifle at the Lesseps, it released a large yellow blast at the battleship. A direct hit! The blast slammed through the ship's bridge with such force that it left a large hole in the ship. The ship exploded in an intense explosion killing everyone on board. As the battleship smoked, the mobile suit jettisoned away towards the Archangel.

"Shit. This will be trouble if the pilot is our enemy." La Flaga headed back towards the Archangel, his mind buzzing with thoughts.

"With that kind of power, the Archangel wouldn't stand a chance – neither would the Strike," he muttered solemnly, hoping that the pilot was an enemy of Zaft. He sure as Hell would not like to be in a position against _that_ mobile suit.

* * *

The Desert Tiger, Andrew Waltfeld, sat in the passenger side of his jeep, stunned. It was not every day to outrun a tiger, if the tiger wanted you to leave. This time new predators chased the tiger out of one of his territories.

The Desert Tiger grinned; he loved challenges.

"We got four new mobile suits allying with the Archangel and its G-weapon, one of my Lesseps is destroyed, and, apparently, I dropped my coffee," he listed, shrugging impassively. Waltfeld needed to head back to the Tigress, a Lesseps class ship, quickly; he had to plan his next strategy.

His blue eyes hardened. "My fangs are bared, Archangel," he declared. "I promise I'm going to give you Hell for what you've done to my men."

"DaCosta, we leave now!" The jeep hastened its retreat back to the Tigress…alone.

* * *

Murrue Ramius breathed out a sigh. The battle was over…for now. The beautiful captain observed the destruction of Zaft's mobile suits from her bridge. It was simply incredible. Three new and unknown mobile suits took out Zaft in an instant. She trembled to think if they turned their power on the Archangel. Glancing in the Strike's direction, she noticed the dragon-like Gundam land next to the orange one, both of them immobile. _That was good,_ she thought as long as they were noncombatant it would make her diplomatic job a lot easier.

Another so-called G-weapon appeared, its black cloak shining in the sun as it landed near the other two Gundams.

"Captain, incoming message from Lt. Commander La Flaga, he says: The Lesseps has been destroyed by another unknown mobile suit. Stay cautious, it's flying toward your direction."

The Lesseps destroyed? Murrue had seen pictures of Lesseps type classes with the 8th fleet. Only a large battalion of mobile suits or an extremely armed battleship like the Archangel had the capabilities to take it down. Dear stars if a mobile suit was able to take out the Lesseps, she trembled at thought if the Archangel fought such a suit.

"An unknown mobile suit approaching our position?"

"Put it on screen." The mobile suit had an air of immensity; the red, blue, and white color scheme highlighted most of its body. What was odd about the mobile suit was its face; it seemed to have lost some of its armor. The mobile suit landed next to the black one, standing erect. Her eyes caught some movement by the resistance fighters near the Gundams' legs. They were edging out their vehicles.

"Mam, Mu La Flaga and the Skygrasper have made it back safely."

"Good." Murrue nodded her head in affirmation.

"Would you consider them allies," Natarle asked, positioning herself next to the Ramius as they overlooked the ground.

"They're not pointing guns at us and they seem to be willing to talk. At least we can do is obliged their request," Murrue admitted, leaving her chair.

"How about those unknown mobile suits, captain? Do you think Orb has anything to do with this? Can we even call them allies? They could be Zaft sent to infiltrate our ranks," Natarle further questioned, her eyes narrowed on the battered Gundams.

"Who knows, Lt. Commander Badgiruel? They, too, seem likely to talk, considering their noncombatant status, but keep a vigilant eye on them. I'd rather have this situation be as neutral as it can. You're in charge." Murrue entered the elevator, taking her to her destination.

Armed Earth Alliance soldiers gathered around the exit of the Archangel as Murrue entered the metal corridor, loading her gun. Mu La Flaga came besides her looking a little distressed as he loaded his gun.

"These guys seem as sinister as the enemy. I'm not very good in these situations," he said, trying to lighten up the tense situation. Murrue smiled at him as two made their way out of the exit.

* * *

"Well, well, well, the party is about to begin," Duo said as he lounged in his chair, his feet propped on the interface. "They don't look too happy," he noted Desert Dawn's aggressive posture.

"So it seems," Trowa agreed from Heavyarms.

The Gundam pilots remained silent as two representatives from the white battleship arrived.

"A woman," Wufei questioned, his dark eyes narrowed on the female officer.

"A hot one at that," Duo whooped. "She's probably the captain considering the man next to her is wearing a pilot suit."

"This conversation will tell us all what we need to know about our current situation," Trowa said sagely. _This moment is critical_, he thought, his arms crossed.

Heero remained quiet, his posture relaxed. _Trowa is right_, he thought. Zero's message echoed in his mind. "A new battlefield, huh," he muttered quietly. His Prussian blue eyes narrowed on the two factions.

"Let's see what they go to say, and then we'll act," he said, receiving three affirmative nods.

* * *

The Desert Dawn glared at the two Earth Forces, their posture cautious. The only woman among the group frowned, her hazel eyes glued to the still form of the X-105 Strike. Her eyes shifted toward the four unknown G-weapons, clenching her fists tightly. _Father, have you betrayed us again and to whom,_ she thought, her blonde hair swaying in the light arid breeze. Heavy footsteps were heard from ahead of her. Glancing at the coming officers she waited for their arrival.

"Thank you for saving us. We'd be stuck in a bind if were not for your valor. I'm Murrue Ramius of the Earth Forces', 8th fleet," Murrue said, her visage determined.

"Huh? Wasn't the 8th fleet completely wiped out?" A boy in a blue vest at the front of the group called out, curious of their survival.

A slight tension filled the air between the resistance fighters and the Earth Forces officers. Murrue's countenance became serious as she narrowed her light brown eyes dangerously. A large, light brown-skinned man wearing a green vest over a dark blue shirt silenced the young man with a wave of his hand. They did not need any hostility if they were going to recruit the Archangel's help.

"We're the Desert Dawn," the large man announced, stroking his brown beard idly. "My name is Sahib Ashman. You don't need to thank us. We were only fighting our enemy. You just happened to be there at an opportune moment and we have our own reasons for saving you. However," Sahib paused, his gaze lingering briefly over the four new mobile suits, "those are the ones who technically saved you. It would not be right for us to seize most of the glory."

Looking at the purple-clad, blond-haired pilot, a feeling of recognition struck Sahib; he had seen that face somewhere. Changing the subject, he voiced his question toward the blond-haired man.

"I'm Mu La Flaga. I swear I don't anyone from this area; heck, I've never been to the Sahara Desert till now," he said, shrugging casually.

"So the Hawk of Endymion has graced us with his presence. I never thought I would see such a pilot; a Natural that shot down five Zaft mobile suits at the Battle of Endymion Crater," Sahib said good-naturedly, a smile on his face. "To think that fighting Zaft has landed you and your ship right into our territory unharmed. It must be fate."

Calm settled amongst the two factions. Taking advantage of the mood shift, Murrue commented.

"You people seem to be well-informed. Do you also know about us?"

Sahib smirked. "The crew of the Earth Forces' new assault ship, the Archangel, right? You were chased by Le Creseut's team down to Earth." Eyeing the powered-down Strike, he continued. "And that's…"

"…the X-105 Strike, one of the five prototype G-weapons created for the Earth Forces to match Zaft's mobile suit capabilities," a blonde teenager interrupted, her eyes remaining on the two Earth Forces representatives. Giving the blonde a look, Sahib proceeded.

"Now then, I can only assume you landed here without a plan in the Desert Tiger's den. A source of disaster, indeed, we were surprised that you arrived in this region. Now what will you do Earth Forces, surrounded in Zaft territory? What do you know of the heavily concentrated spots of Zaft territory in areas of this region or the geography itself?

The beautiful brown-eyed captain shared a look with her Lt. Commander. Giving a slight nod to Mu, she answered, "Can we count on your cooperation?"

Sahib smirked smugly, his keen eyes aware of how much power they had over the Earth Forces. _Too easy_, he remarked mentally. "You say you want our cooperation with guns loaded at us. Do you think us fools? Lower your weapons and let us see your pilot and then we'll talk."

Sighing, Murrue acquiesced. The hidden Earth Forces soldiers stood down. "Very well, come out ensign Yamato."

From the bridge of the Archangel, Natarle gritted her teeth in anger. It was bad enough to owe their lives to the Desert Dawn, but to submit to their requests and let them see the Strike's pilot broke military protocol.

"Your too soft, Murrue," Natarle whispered as Kira, clad in his blue, white, and black patterned spacesuit, lowered to the ground.

Walking toward Desert Dawn and Murrue and Mu, he slipped off his helmet revealing a teenage boy with spiky brown hair and gentle purple eyes. The resistance fighters' whispered amongst themselves at seeing the pilot.

"That's the pilot?"

"He's only a child."

A wave of recognition lit the blond-haired woman's face. She knew the pilot. He saved her at Heliopolis. She had thought he died when Zaft invaded the colony. What in the world was he, a Heliopolis student, doing piloting that suit? Overcome with shock and anger, she ran towards him, her red sleeves rippling from under her green bulletproof vest.

"It's you," she whispered, hazel eyes widening in disbelief.

Mu La Flaga laid his hand on his gun, unsure of the intentions of the blond-haired youth. A long, black- haired man blocked his path, protecting the young women. Mu capitulated, smiling at the man.

"Why? Why are you piloting that thing," the girl yelled, throwing a punch to his face. Kira caught the punch with ease, grabbing her wrist tightly. "I know you! You're that girl from Morgenroete," he recognized, his mind replaying their first encounter.

"You bastard! Let go!" The girl punched his face in anger. Intense hazel eyes glared at him as Kira touched his cheek, wincing slightly from the bruise.

"Cagalli," Sahib yelled. Now was not the time for her emotional outburst. They were at a new and fragile alliance at best with the Earth Forces; they did not need any other hindrances in their negotiations.

* * *

Stormy, ocean blue eyes watched the exchange between Kira and the girl called Cagalli attentively from the Archangel. The red-haired girl wondered if Cagalli would be an obstacle in her way to manipulate Kira's feelings. Sliding her blanket over her head, Flay muttered a few curses. She would have to try harder to sway Kira's emotions. For letting her father die, it was his responsibility to wipe out all Coordinators till he – a Coordinator himself – dies. That was how it was supposed to be: her vengeance for her father. But why did her heart hurt when she thought of Kira dying. She shook her head furiously. She could not be having feelings for a Coordinator; it just was not possible, right? Dismissing her thoughts, she peaked at screen of the gathered forces wondering what was going to happen next.

* * *

As Cagalli walked back to her comrades, Sahib turned his attention to the new mobile suits. The strange mobile suits looked similar to the Strike, but a few meters smaller. Their majestic painted armor glowed from the sun, making them an imposing sight. _Are they Earth Forces? No. The pilots would have met with the two Earth Forces contingent on the ground. How about Zaft? Doubt it_, he thought_, he and everyone else would be dead. Are they a separate faction, perhaps_? Sahib turned his attention towards Mu and Murrue.

"Well, now our introductions may be done, but we're still missing another group. I doubt these mobile suits belong to you for they entered the fray after our rescue of the Strike. Are they a neutral faction?" Sahib's keen eyes shined with amusement at determined Earth Forces' faces.

"I wouldn't know, but I would like to found out," said Murrue, her eyes turned to the four mysterious Gundams.

"Then show yourselves soldiers of fate," Sahib called, his eyes inquiring.

In the impending silence of all, four cockpits opened from the unknown mobile suits. All eyes gravitated towards the machines as four figures emerged.

* * *

The four Gundam pilots were astounded beyond belief. What in the Hell did they just listen to? The Earth Alliance – not Earth Sphere Unified Nations? Zaft? Battle of Endymion Crater? A whirlwind of thoughts engulfed the pilots, but one salient thought lingered: Were they even in After Colony 195? A strong silence reigned between the Gundam pilots; only the sound of their computers humming lightly remained.

Breaking the silence of quiet contemplation, Trowa spoke first.

"Heero, are we in After Colony 195?"

"How could you say that? Of course we are," Duo argued fiercely. "It's just that the White Fang and the E.S.U.N. have new weapons, right?"

"I really doubt that," Wufei commented calmly. "It's been bothering me since the start of fighting those purple mobile suits." He remembered the BuCUE pilot shouting "for Zaft" just as he exploded. In addition, the White Fang owned only Taurus and Virgos and they were mobile dolls – A.I. controlled suits – not human pilots.

Heero's monitor glowed yellow as he talked with Zero. _So this is what you meant Zero. A new battlefield and a new alternate universe_, Heero contemplated. _Roger that, Zero_.

"According to Zero, we were transferred to another universe via the chain reaction from my twin buster rifle and that piece of Libra. The total percentage of returning to our universe is 1%... by a chain reaction in a nuclear explosion," Heero responded solemnly.

A brief silence occurred. "You got to be kidding me! We just fought and ended a war; only to be magically transported to an alternate universe with more. Man, I have such rotten luck," Duo complained, his head aching.

"Just be grateful that were alive, again. I rather be here than incinerated in a fiery explosion," Wufei said, his dark eyes gleaming with anticipation. _Maybe I can find my own sense of justice here_, Wufei thought. Treize's defeat had left a bitter taste in his mouth.

"We should discuss this later. It seems like the impatient crowd is waiting for its new actors to take the stage," Trowa said softly.

The Gundam pilots nodded in unison, arming themselves with handguns – Wufei with his broadsword – as they opened their cockpits to the desert, the Desert Dawn, and the Earth Forces. Sliding down their pulleys, the black-clad, Gundam pilots walked silently toward the group.

"More children?"

"Is that a sword?"

"They look so young."

_No, they don't. Their eyes are dangerous_, Mu La Flaga refuted silently as he eyed the black-clad pilots. There was something alarming with children whose eyes were intense as fire. Murrue and the rest noticed their serious demeanors too.

"Do you think their Zaft," she whispered to Mu.

"I doubt it," Mu said, his hand on his holstered gun.

The Gundam pilots stood patiently, their eyes drilling into the two factions. Sahib watched them closely before he stepped forward. He was about to open his mouth, when the captain of the Archangel beat him to it.

"Thank you for saving us from Zaft. We also hope to cooperate with you," Murrue expressed, her gratitude showing on her face.

"No problem, baby, anytime," said Duo with a wink. Duo's statement and wink caught Murrue and everyone else off-guard. A red blush of colored her cheeks.

"Baby? I did not know you were so forward," Mu chuckled, a light smile on his face.

"Hey what can I say, I'm a charming guy," Duo replied, smirking good-naturedly as he pointed at himself. "The name's Duo Maxwell. I may run and hide, but I never tell a lie. That's me in nutshell."

Surprise came over the crowd at the forthcoming Gundam pilot.

Pointing to his comrades, Duo introduced them to the two factions. "The boy with dark brown hair and serious eyes on my left is antisocial number one. The tall one on my right with crazy hair is antisocial number two. And the last boy with a jet black ponytail is the arrogant loner."

Mu laughed aloud. He knew for sure that he and this boy would get along just fine. The two factions gaped at his openness. _Who in the world was this boy_, Sahib thought. The Archangel and the Desert Dawn had their weapons out, and he showed no fear. Was he an idiot?

Looking at Duo, Trowa's eyes were amused but, he refocused his attention on the two factions. It was his turn. He stepped forward, green eyes expressionless. "The name's Trowa Barton." The two other Gundam pilots followed his lead.

"Heero Yuy, a pleasure."

"Wufei."

Sahib nodded as he stepped forward. "The Desert Dawn thanks you for your timely arrival," he said humbly.

"You shouldn't," Wufei remarked. "The weak like you shouldn't be fighting."

"What?!" Cagalli roared, "The weak like us? How dare you! Do you know how hard we fought, how many of us have died, have bled?" Angry hazel eyes stared into impassive dark brown. Tension filled the air as the Desert Dawn gripped their weapons angrily, insulted by the black haired-youth.

"Just like a woman to let her emotion cloud her judgment. I may not know what's going on, but I'm more perceptive than you. Zaft has left people alone because they will it, not because of your so-called strength. You've seen today without Nataku's interference you would have been dead."

"Bastard," Cagalli yelled as she ran to hit him, but her shoulder was grabbed tightly by Sahib, his face impassive. "Sahib," she whispered as she gazed into his piercing brown eyes. He turned his attention to Wufei, his eyes narrowing.

"You may be right…of course your right; but that does not mean we have to accept our submitted fate, boy. Even the smallest insect has courage. We hope to one day regain our land and we'll do anything possible to fight for it – even if our pride has to suffer for it."

A nostalgic smile covered Wufei's face as he remembered his days with the resistance fighter Sally Po in China. "Even the righteous must have courage."

"Yes, the righteous must have courage," Sahib agreed with a smirk.

An uncomfortable silence surrounded the two factions, each absorbed in their thoughts of the Gundam pilots. Heero took advantage of this moment.

"Captain Ramius, if we are to cooperate together, we too, have some favors to ask," the handsome Prussian blue-eyed warrior said, his gaze calm.

Curious, Murrue nodded her head for him to continue.

"We'll fight for you, but we want our own autonomy. We will not be enforced by the Earth Forces' military regulation. If we choose to leave at any time, you _will_ allow us to depart. In exchange for your resources, our skillset will be added collectively to your crew."

"Very well, we'll grant your request; you guys can store your mobile suits in our hangar. We'll offer more accommodations once you've settled in," She said with a lovely grin, her right hand out.

Heero stared warily at the hand; he had only shaken hands with one person, a person he could call his equal intellectually and in piloting, Zechs Merquise, the commander of White Fang. He clasped her hand slowly, staring into her warm brown eyes. A spark shook them both. Heero knew in that second that this woman would be important to him; just as Relena Peacecraft. A few moments passed by as they stared deeply into each other's eyes, basking in the warm connection.

A cough from Mu La Flaga interrupted their bond, his eyes suspicious. "As much as I would like to watch you two stare into each other's eyes all day, we got things to do." A blushing Murrue nodded, embarrassed by her behavior. Heero's glazed look was replaced by a cool expression, annoyed by Mu's interference. Behind Heero's back, Duo gave him a suggestive grin, his eyes twinkling with mischief. Heero just gave him great blackmail material.

"One last question: What faction are you pilots with?" a voice called out from the Desert Dawn. The Earth Forces and the resistance fighters looked at the pilots, eagerly awaiting their answer.

"The faction for peace," Heero stated cryptically as he and the other pilots returned to their mobile suits to walk them to the hangar.

Watching the pilots return to their Gundams Cagalli pulled up to Sahib's side. "We should show them our base of operations. I doubt we'll have any problems with them," she whispered.

"Trusting them already?"

"It's not that, it's just...," Cagalli paused, unsure of her emotions with the Strike's pilot. "He saved my life. I feel I owe it to him. That's all."

"If you feel that way then it's decided," Sahib said.

"Since our negotiations are done, it's time to go. Follow us, are base is not too far from here – only few hours away," Sahib announced toward the Earth Forces. Mu and Murrue nodded their thanks and walked towards Archangel's hangar.

"Eventful day, huh," Mu exclaimed, his right hand rubbing the back of his head.

"It's not over yet, Lieutenant," Murrue chuckled. "We still have to help our new residents move in."

"They're not made from titanium or equipped with phase shift armor," Mu said suddenly, his carefree attitude disappearing.

"The new mobile suits?"

"Yeah, I'm sure that they were powered-down, but their color scheme did turn to gray. It seems like someone else is constructing G-weapons behind the scenes. Troublesome, indeed," Mu said perceptively, his fingers touching his chin.

Murrue glanced curiously at the new mobile suits entering the hangar. She wondered what secrets these young men were harboring. To have such eyes she wondered, a chill passed over her. Things were about to get more interesting.


	3. Into The Tiger's Den

AN: Thank you for taking the time to review, favorite, and follow. I really appreciate your time and gratitude. If you dislike this story, then offer critical analysis of what you didn't like. I'll take it into consideration of how I'm fleshing this story out. Thanks!

I did not really like this chapter very much. I wrote it twice and it's still bleh. I'll probably update it again sometime in the near future. I've been thinking of restarting this formula in Gundam Seed Destiny. It's still in early developments - inside my mind.

Concerns:

Myzor King of War: Sorry no Quatre. I was going to use him as a sacrificial lamb for plot development, but I decided not to.

Anyway, enjoy and review.

* * *

The sounds of heavy chatter met the Gundam pilots as they exited their mobile suits in the Archangel's hangar. A cavernous metal room, the hanger bay had the space to fill eight mobile suits or armors –since its intended use was for the total combined G-weapons and their customizations. Head chief mechanic Kojiro Murdoch looked up in awe over the unknown G-weapons. Rubbing his blue hair, Murdoch's sharp eyes detailed the battered suits, noticing their damages and scorch marks. They were not made of titanium, he thought, as he looked closely at each suit: the new Gundams, apparently, did not use Phase Shift armor.

"What marvelous inventions," he exclaimed, his orange and white mechanic uniform shaking from his hearty laughs.

"Indeed, chief mechanic Murdoch," agreed Murrue, as she and Mu positioned themselves next to him, her warm smile on the pilots.

Duffel bags in hand, the After Colony travelers met the captain at the feet of their Gundams. Duo stared at the large facility, making note of the resources.

"You sure got a lively place here," he said with smile, his cobalt blue eyes wandering the large room.

"We try to keep busy," Murdoch answered, his eyes looking still on the mobile suits. "But since you guys are the new pilot force, we need to replenish your units' weapons; although, I don't know what we can do about the missing plates of armor – seems like you guys had been through Hell before you came to our pilot's rescue."

"Don't worry about it. We'll handle our own repairs," Heero replied, his Prussian blue eyes serious. "Besides, no one touches my mobile suit."

"But, we're the mechanics! It's our job to make repairs!" Murdoch exclaimed; he was shocked that they would deny him and his crew's expertise.

"It's the same for all us. It's not that we're not grateful for your help, but we're pretty efficient by ourselves; we'd rather not want anyone besides ourselves knowing our Gundams' design and capabilities," Trowa said calmly, his arms crossed.

"But-but," Murdoch sputtered.

"It's fine, chief mechanic, let them do as they please," Murrue intervened as the pilot of the Strike walked towards them. Wiping some sweat from his brow, Kira tried to look presentable towards the brown-haired captain.

"Good job, ensign Yamato. You did well."

"Thank you, captain Ramius," Kira said humbly. Never one to take compliments, Kira blushed, turning his head to the side. "It was only my job."

"Well now that the battle is over, could you show our new guest the dormitories? It's going to take us a few hours before we get to our destination. Rest up," she said as she and Mu left for the private conference room of the Archangel. They needed to discuss their plans for working with Desert Dawn and their new allies.

"Sure thing, mam."

* * *

The Archangel's captain's conference room held three figures: Murrue Ramius, Natarle Badgiruel, and Mu La Flaga. Murrue had a frown on her red lips, her brown eyes in deep in contemplation. Mu and Natarle stood at helm, each waiting for the captain to continue.

"Going into this, we need extra supplies for our continuing trip to Alaska. We may be helping the Desert Dawn out for fighting Zaft, but we need supplies from their resources."

"Don't forget the Desert Tiger is in this area, captain. He was given more jurisdictions of the North African forces after the Battle of Namibia, claiming portions of the South African Union," Mu inputted.

"At the moment, all we can do is hope for the best." Murrue sighed; she rested her head atop her clasped hands. "However, I doubt it – what with all the surprises that happened today. Speaking of surprise, what do the two of you think of our new alliance with those four boys?

"I think it's a wise move, captain Ramius. However, I'm unsure of their intentions and status as either a Natural or Coordinator; not to mention their mobile suits are something I've never before seen," Natarle remarked, her purples eyes seeking confirmation with both Mu and Murrue.

"It's most curious, is it not? Four new generation G-weapons that are immensely strong and capable of defeating the ZGMF BuCUEs in practically no-time is reason for suspicion. In addition, the ages of the pilots are also a factor in the Coordinator equation. Are they Coordinators, has new faction mastered new software for mobile suits unlike Orb, is Orb building more mobile suits for neutral countries as well? There are too many variables; even I do not have the answers."

"We can force them to tell us –"

"You will absolutely not!" Slamming her hands on the table, Murrue stood leaning forward, her anger apparent in her brown eyes and tight lips. "Lt. Badgiruel, think of the repercussions of that statement. We just gained their trust; do you really think forcing them to reveal their secrets would work in our favor? They have the skills and power to completely annihilate the Archangel and the Strike! One of their mobile suits destroyed one of the Desert Tiger's Lesseps for God's sake!

Calming down, Murrue exhaled slowly the tension leaving from her body, but her lovely brown eyes remained serious. "Forcing their hand too fast certainly won't be beneficial to us and our way toward Alaska; I hate to say this but we'll be depending more on them than they for us. Kira Yamato is a great pilot, but overworking him will bring him to his breaking point. We need balance especially if Le Creseut's team is still after us." Murrue paused before looking directly into Natarle's eyes. "Is that understood?"

Recomposing herself from Murrue's outburst, Natarle gritted her teeth and nodded her head in affirmation. "Yes, captain."

* * *

"So we're really not in the After Colony era, huh? This totally seems impossible," Duo proclaimed, sitting on a chair backwards, his hands wrapped around the back, as Heero read aloud the Cosmic Era timeline from his laptop.

The four Gundam pilots were in a four-bunk room in the ship's dormitories; Heero sat on a chair with his laptop on a brown desk facing the wall wearing a White Fang uniform: a gray high collared shirt, completed with dark green pants, matching brown gloves and shoes, and a short white scarf; Trowa – wearing a long blue sleeved turtleneck and white jeans – was leaning against the wall parallel to Heero; and Wufei in a blue tank top with high white pants wrapped by a black sash with matching colored wristbands was sitting on the right bottom bunk.

"Gathered from the ship's archives, we're in the Cosmic Era 71 amidst a brutal and gritty war fought by Zaft and the Earth Alliance. Zaft – Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty – a military force centered in 12 hourglass space colonies called PLANTS are predominantly made up of Coordinators: genetically enhanced human beings. Their polar opposites: The Earth Alliance forces, made up of Naturals – regular humans – are both at war.

The war is tied to extreme genetic racism between the two starting with the birth of the Coordinator, George Glenn. However, jealousy from Naturals over the years has caused two different paradigms for human evolution: genetic or non-genetic engineering.

The war is reminiscent of our own: the Colonies versus the Earth."

"So genetic racism and jealousy are the contributing factors for this senseless war," Duo commented, his eyes tired. "Another way for humanity to create more chaos"

"Humanity won't learn, because there will always be wars, regardless of genetics," Heero said as he gazed into his computer screen. "Their bigotry for each other will be their destruction."

Heero continued. "The Bloody Valentine war was started last year on the colony Junius Seven, an agricultural colony – that was started in 69 C.E. to attain their food from space – was nuked, killing millions. As a result, Zaft dropped N-Jammers to halt any nuclear activity on Earth, thus, killing millions on Earth that depend on Nuclear Power from starvation."

"And the continuance of power and hatred ignited their resolve to exterminate one of another," Duo voiced somberly. A strong silence ensued in the room, each pilot contemplating the course of the war.

"Heero, who are the key political figures in this war," Trowa questioned, his green eyes still closed.

"The Atlantic Federation with Blue Cosmos and the delegation in the PLANTS. Right now, Siegel Clyne, leader of the moderates is the Chairman in the PLANTs. It won't last long, with the leader of the radicals, Patrick Zala, his rhetoric to end the war quickly has proven decisive. It seems like his façade for ending the war will lead to genocide of all Naturals, since he believes that Coordinators are the epiphany of human evolution - a different species entirely, if you read between the lines.

Blue Cosmos is a different story. They despise anything genetically-related, believing that a human is pure from their very birth; hence, their motto: For Our Blue and Pure World. Anything that violates their beliefs must be exterminated, i.e. Coordinators and their sympathizers. Their political spectrum ranges from anti-Coordinator groups that assassinate Coordinators to sympathizers in the Atlantic Federation. I would bet that they are masked in the military, too."

Trowa's eyes narrowed. "Blue Cosmos…that's interesting. But if it's like Oz, they must have some kind of financial backer like the Romefeller Foundation," Trowa spoke softly.

"Anything referencing Blue Cosmos' finances in the Archangel's database is non-existent on this ship; we'll have to gather our own information on our travels to Alaska, the E.A.'s headquarters." Heero eyed his fellow pilots.

"If it's anything like the Romefeller foundation, then it's for profit. Using wars and racism to stirrup conflict as a method to fill their pockets, is foul. We should consider both the E.A. and Zaft as hostile enemies and destroy them," Wufei stated, his face calm, but his hands gripped the sheets tightly.

"At the moment, Zaft has the best capabilities of fighting us – being the first to create mobile suits; it's why they are leading the war. There mass-produced mobile suits: ZGMF-1017 GINN, ZGMF-600 GuAIZ, ZGMF-515 CGUE, TFA-2 ZuOOT, and ZGMF-1000 ZAKU Warrior are quite capable of tackling the E.A.'s military, which is why Orb gave them five prototype Gundams to combat Zaft's strength. It won't be long before the E.A. achieves the capability of building and piloting mobile suits," Heero added, showing the other pilots diagrams of the Zaft's mobile suits.

The Gundam pilots dispensed into more talk of the growing conflict, comparing and contrasting the specs of the Leos to video evidence from Zaft's large production of human-like suits. As the talk became heated, a steady sound of knocks on their door interrupted their conversation. As Duo opened the door by clicking on a slight panel on his left, the pilots were greeted by the captain and her two fellow officers, Natarle and Mu.

She greeted the quad with a warm smile on her red lips. "It seems that we caught you guys at interesting moment," she said, noticing Heero, Trowa, and Wufei hovered over Heero's laptop.

"We're about to disembark, and we wanted you four with us when we meet Sahib at his base." Murrue's warm smile was contrasted by Natarle's stern expression. Even though she was grateful for their help, she still distrusted them. It was little too convenient for them to be piloting mobile suits, where only Zaft and Orb had the capability of making them.

Duo glanced at the curious pilots before nodding in affirmation to the E.A. members. "Sure, captain Ramius."

The group of six walked quietly toward the entrance as Sahib Ashman stood waiting by his jeep for their arrival.

* * *

The Tigress, a Lesseps-class battleship was roaming the desert on its way to Tassil. The Desert Tiger had heard from reports that Tassil was one of the areas housing the Desert Dawn. By completely destroying town he hoped to cut off their food supplies and ammunition storages: total war by economic starvation. Inside the battleship, Andrew Waltfeld was going over clips he had recorded of the previous battle with the legged ship.

"Rewind," he muttered, as he took another sip from his coffee mug. He was watching carefully the dragon mobile suit's movements as it defeated his BuCUEs. Each of its movement was so concise like a dancer yet explosive; there was no hesitation unlike the Strike. That was a commonality he observed in the new G-weapons, the pilots were efficient. The Strike's pilot was good, but these pilots were leagues better.

"Pause." A clip a mobile suit with long white wings appeared on his screen, its rifle shooting the Lesseps. _How troublesome_, he thought, rubbing the back of his head, _a machine with the power to destroy a large land-battleship like the Lesseps is in my domain_.

He brought up a picture of the six mobile suits on his screen. "We have black stealth suit, a close combat dragon suit, a heavy ballistic suit, a suit with the power to destroy a Lesseps in one shot, and an adaptable suit," he listed off. The odds were against him it seemed. Zala's Operation Spitbreak was coming and Zala needed the Central African division for taking over the South African Union. However, these four new mobile suits might have changed those plans. Zala was sure going to hate him for bringing back the Jenkins' division to North Africa from the South African region, but it's a consequence he was willing to take.

The Desert Tiger pressed his intercom button. "DaCosta, get me Commander Samuel Jenkins of the South African Division. Tell him it's time to prepare for a full out war."

* * *

In a rocky ravine that crept out of the sandy dunes, the Archangel glided its way towards the Desert Dawns hideout. Finding a hidden enclave the Archangel landed on the soft ground, the walls of the ravine shielding it from view except for its top. Seven figures headed into the bustling enclave, noticing curious stares from onlookers; even the occasional one-overs and flirtatious whistles from the resistance forces. Sahib led the force into a large cave-like room filled with resistance intelligence hovering over their laptops and two large maps centered in the middle and the across the back of the room's wall.

"Whew. You guys live like this?" Mu questioned his head turned in amazement at the fully furnished room. He was expecting something like makeshift tents, but he was surprise at their collection of equipment.

"This is our frontline base. Our homes are in the town," Sahib stated gruffly as poured himself some coffee. "It would be a wise move not to concern our homes in our conflict against Zaft. They would be too easy a target to eliminate."

"Towns?" Murrue inquired, her head tilting to the side.

"Tassil, Moula…we even have guys from Banadiya. Our group, our militia, is made of volunteers from different regions in North Africa; each fighting with their minds, bodies, and souls to take-down the oppressor. Coffee? "

All six nodded their heads in unison. With a coffee mug in hand, Heero walked over to the centered map, studying the geography and hot areas of Zaft. Trowa was leaning against the rocky wall, his eyes closed. Duo and Wufei stood to the right side of Mu, Murrue, and Natarle, slowing sipping their coffee. Murrue offered her gratitude at Sahib's hospitality. Sahib nodded his head, and shared a brief glance with Cagalli – whom was helping out with intelligence – before continuing to sip his coffee.

"Who's she?" Mu asked perceptively, after catching Sahib's shared eye contact with Cagalli.

"Our goddess of war, Cagalli Yula," Sahib replied.

"She's not too bad on the eyes," Duo said enthusiastically while looking at Cagalli in appreciation. Sahib gave the boy a hard stare, but Duo just shrugged it off.

Sighing in exasperation, Sahib refocused his attention on to the map. "So I understand that guys want to get to Alaska. " He pointed at an area on the map. "Well, it may be Zaft territory, but look at this land. It's not as if their forces can cover the whole desert. But since the Victoria Spaceport was taken three days ago they've increased pressure considerably."

Earth Alliance officers were in shock. Lake Victoria taken?!

"Victoria? Three days ago?" Murrue said, shaken by how quickly Zaft chipped away their forces.

"Man, oh man," Mu commented, shaking his head. He knew it was going to happen, but he did not think that soon.

"Lake Victoria Spaceport? So Zaft has control over the Mobilis Mass Driver now…this should be an interesting battle. I'll leave after we defeated Zaft here," Wufei stated, his eyes scanning pictures of Zaft's new residency in the area.

Surprised eyes stared at the Chinese pilot in disbelief, he could not be serious. Mu looked at the pilot with narrowed eyes.

"Wufei, an impulsive decision like that can have resounding consequences. This isn't the time for solo missions," Trowa said, frowning.

"You're joking?" Murrue exclaimed in shock, leaning over the table.

"Are you an idiot? One suit can't compete with that many Zaft units?! That's suicide," bellowed Cagalli, turning to the Altron's pilot.

Wufei smirked arrogantly, his eyes observing the stunned faces of the Desert Dawn and Earth Forces officers. "I don't care. My enemies are in space and Earth – I'll fight them up there. They can do the rest on Earth." Wufei regarded his fellow Gundam pilots with a determined expression.

"How can you say that? Attacking a Zaft base is not an easy matter," Cagalli exclaimed, shocked that someone would make such a callous statement.

"It might be trouble for you, but we can handle it," Heero retorted to the blond-headed girl, his Prussian blue eyes narrowing on her hazel. Cagalli grabbed Heero's grey shirt in anger. She was clearly not amused by Heero's bravado.

"Cagalli!" Sahib yelled. He sighed internally, out of all the time for her to become over-emotional; she just had to do it during an importance conference like this, again. "Figures, teenagers," he muttered quietly.

"And what do you mean by that?" Cagalli growled lowly. She stared into his emotionless eyes waiting for a response.

"Goddess of war my ass, sounds like goddess of chaos," Duo whispered conversationally to Mu. They both chortled silently at the scene. Murrue and Natarle looked at them in annoyance, giving the two dirty glances.

Heero stayed silent; he decided he would not grace her with an answer, so he defiantly turned his head to the side and closed his eyes. As she raised her fist to throw a punch, Mu intervened.

"Like the Lesseps?" he inquired.

Opening his eyes, Heero observed Mu La Flaga in intrigue. The man was quite perceptive, he thought, as he nonchalantly dug his fingers into Cagalli's clenched hand, rubbing her finger bones. She yelped in pain as she quickly let go of Heero's person.

"Yeah," Heero replied calmly while crossing his arms.

"Stop bullshitting us! Who are you people? How did you get those mobile suits? Only Orb had the capabilities of making G-weapons, so who's your benefactor? Are you Earth Alliance or a neutral faction amongst the Earth?" Cagalli glared at the pilots. They were so damn secretive, especially the Prussian blue-eyed boy.

Wufei scowled at the brash young girl in annoyance.

"You certainly are intrusive. It would be better for those that don't have power to leave this meeting." Wufei returned his attention to the pictures of the moving of Zaft's Victorian forces.

Sahib gripped her shoulder, his expression decided.

"Whatever." Cagalli gave an aggravated huff before she stormed out the room.

"I'm sorry about the interference. She has a fiery temper, but she is capable when in the battlefield," Sahib apologized to his audience.

"If she lets her emotions control her on the battlefield, she'll be a danger and a liability," Heero warned Sahib.

"Duly noted, now let's continue."

The discussion led to an arrangement between the Desert Dawn and the Archangel and crew of getting necessary resources and replenishing their stocks for overthrowing Zaft in this area. The group also debated quicker alternatives toward reaching Alaska, settling on crossing the Red Sea than confronting heavy artillery at Gibraltar, a Zaft hotspot. Although the Archangel had more firepower, they did not want to suffer heavy damages before reaching Alaska from Zaft.

* * *

Bright orange and yellow illuminated the dusk sky over the Desert Dawn encampment. A lone brown haired-boy sat on the rocky hill face overlooking the now partially covered in camouflage tarp white battleship. The boy had just finished covering the ship with his mobile suit. A myriad of thoughts roamed in his head. He contemplated their fortunate rescue by the Desert Dawn and his new allies; the blond haired-girl that he saved from Heliopolis was also on his mind, which eventually led him to thoughts of why he was fighting so hard for the Earth Alliance. A light breeze ruffled his spiky brown hair and blue uniform. As he was thinking, a female voice caught his attention.

"Stupid jackass had the courage to dismiss me from the meeting. Arrogant blue-eyed bastard! Who the Hell does he think he is?" the girl rambled quietly. Looking up he spotted Cagalli in a red shirt and beige khaki pants walking his way while muttering quietly. He snickered lightly as she finally glanced his way.

"Hey!" she waved as she ran up to him. Her expression determined as she reached him.

"I want to a, um, apologize for hitting you. It was spontaneous and I didn't mean it. Well, um, that's not right; I mean I did mean it. I'm sorry. Forgive me," she apologized. Kira inwardly laughed, that had to be one of the worst apologies he had ever seen. It was apparent to Kira that Cagalli disliked being in the wrong even if she's made a mistake. Noting her hopeful and shy glances, he decided to speak up.

"It's alright, although, I am quite curious about your place here. I thought you were from Orb."

"I am from Orb it's just that…lots of thing have happened since then," she said evasively. "But, what are you doing piloting that thing! And why did you join the Earth Forces as well?" Her eyes scanned the tall machine hatefully; it was another burden of her country.

Kira glanced to the side, recalling his adventures with Archangel. "Lots of things happened as well. It's really difficult to put it in perspective," he said quietly.

The two teenagers talked through the waning hours of dusk as a black-haired figure lurked amongst the rocks. He narrowed his eyes on the two, hoping that the blond haired-woman would not reveal any of her secrets. It would be a crisis if Cagalli Yula divulged confidential information of her homeland.

* * *

The aroma of cooking and chatter filled the lively encampment of the Desert Dawn. People lingered around fire pits eating their meals under the night sky. Four figures huddled in silence over a raging fire, quietly eating and drinking their meal. It had been a long and arduous day for the Gundam pilots: to wake up in the Sahara Desert from space, and find an alternate reality was rather mind-blowing. Each pilot meditated on their past actions and of the ones they left behind.

For the quiet Trowa, it was quite troublesome. He had just finally opened his heart to others after his friendship with Quatre, Heero, and Cathy – his adopted sister in all but name. He finally had a place to go home and a family to protect and now, all of it had vanished in an instant. He knew the occurrence of going back to the After Colony era was extremely low, but he had some glimmer of hope; although, he was glad to be alive rather than atomized particles. He stared into the burning fire; his greens eyes reflecting the flickers of the swirling flames. The beats of war drummed loudly in this universe and he knew all too well that he would have to harden his heart once again.

Sitting next to Trowa, Heero had his blue eyes trained on the bright stars. They always looked so beautiful from the Earth, he thought. A soldier all his life, he met any obstacle head-on with grim determination; and even in this world, he would do the same. He hoped for peace, however, he was not naïve to the ideals of pacifism; but he believed in the world and its people could change their war-like ways. Relena had taught him that, and though he loved her and held a strong admiration for her dedication toward peace, it would be difficult for him to let go of her considering his situation. However, he would follow his emotions in this world like he had always done in his own universe. And maybe, he could find a life without the gritty and bloody sounds of the battlefield calling to him.

Across from Trowa, Duo sat absorbed quietly in his own thoughts. He was stranded in another world with no way back and more war to look forward to. He should have put down a deposit on his house with Hilde. On a more serious note, Duo was confident in his ability to survive in the war-torn Cosmic Era; he had survived the Maxwell Church Massacre and the Eve Wars, he could survive this war too. He prided himself on doing what's right even though there was blood on his hands; he never made excuses for his actions. He also wondered what true peace was like, and he hoped to experience it in this universe. He would help create peace even if had to become the God of Death once again.

Wufei sat next to Duo, his dark eyes staring into the contents of his cup. He was confused. He had killed Treize Khushrenada, his rival and biggest opposition after finding out he was the one responsible for the death of his wife, but it felt hollow. Where was his justice and sense of integrity? In this universe, there were too many injustices and evil intentions. Treize died for peace, but what peace did it bring him especially in this new world raged by war. All those ideals from his world were nonexistent as soldiers continued to fight. Everything in this world seemed so chaotic, and out of control, should they all be destroyed for peace? Too many questions were unanswered and he was frustrated by his own self-doubts. He would find his own sense of justice and direction at all costs.

A loud yawn broke their quiet contemplation. Three pairs of eyes found a stretching Duo, his arms reaching for the stars.

"Well, I'm beat. I'm going to hit the sack," he said in-between yawns, his eyes half-lidded. The remaining three turned back to the fire resuming their silence. Duo gave a laidback shrug at their indifferent attitudes as he walked towards the Archangel.

_Don't despair too much guys, it'll eat you alive_, he thought, as he came upon the entrance of the Archangel. As he neared the entry he spotted the blond-haired girl from the meeting hiding behind a rocky wall of the ravine. A sly smile formed on his face; he's was going to have some fun tonight. He tiptoed silently behind her, his presence discreet.

"What'cha spyin' on?" he whispered, his warm breathe tickling her ear. Cagalli nearly screamed as she scrambled away from him, almost tripping over her feet. The young man nearly gave away her position.

"You jackass," she growled lowly. She wondered how he got so close to her; his footsteps were soundless on the rocky desert surface.

Duo smiled smugly loving the look of shock on her face. He should do this more often he thought as he walked closer to her, stopping just arm's length away with his right index finger in the air.

"Lesson number one: if you're trying to hide, be more discreet and aware of your surroundings less the enemy sneaks up on you from behind," Duo said wisely.

"Shut up! I don't need to –"

"I slept in Kira's room last night!" a voice proclaimed from behind the rocky wall interrupting Cagalli.

Eyebrows raised, Duo sidled next to Cagalli, both of them spying on the drama from behind the wall. _So this was what you're eavesdropping on_, he thought, turning his attention to the three figures in front of the Archangel's entrance.

"Flay!" a boy with short blond hair in a blue Earth Forces' uniform yelled at a red-headed girl hidden protectively behind a spiky brown-haired boy. His body was frozen by his girlfriend's words.

"Kira, this isn't true, is it?" the short blond-haired boy questioned, a look of betrayal adorned his face.

"This does not concern you, Sai," the red-headed girl, named Flay, cried, her expression hardening somewhat. Sai called Kira's name again, demanding that he explain the situation. A look of pity and regret flickered in Kira's eyes before he glared angrily at Sai.

"That's enough, Sai. Everyone could see that it was just a one-sided romance between you and Flay: you chasing her while she went along with it. It was already over between the two of you," Kira spoke quietly.

"I'm tired, Sai. The long battle was taxing for me, but nobody seems to give a damn!" he paused, his purple eyes drifting lovingly on to Flay's blue ones. "Only Flay…only Flay cared about me! She held me in her arms all night, holding me tightly, whispering that she would protect me. Only Flay cared," he yelled.

A cruel smirk dawned on Flay's face before it dissolved quickly into a warm smile. She wrapped her arms tenderly over Kira's frame whispering his name adoringly. Kira drew her close as they both walked up the ship's ramp. He halted at the entrance before turning his head at Sai.

"Leave us alone…we just want to be left alone," Kira said before turning his head forward. A loud cry came from Sai as he charged up the ramp determined to stop Kira. Before Sai could grasp Kira's shoulder, Kira's superior reflexes clutched Sai's arm tightly; he pulled Sai's arm behind his back in a strong arm-lock.

"You can't beat me, Sai. You should just quit while you're ahead," Kira derided as he pushed Sai to the ground. Falling on his rear-end, Sai could only watch helplessly as Flay held Kira tighter. Despair welled up in him, could he really compete with such a person?

Behind their hidden position, Duo watched the scene with narrowed eyes. He did not like the expression of the red-headed girl. _She's using him_, he concluded internally, his cobalt blue eyes catching her heartless smirk. He glanced at Cagalli; she was watching the scene with rapt attention, her hazel eyes widening when Kira pushed Sai to the ground.

"Poor kid," he muttered, his right hand rubbing his brown hair. _How in the Hell did I get caught in some soap opera drama_, he thought, as he noticed Cagalli's curious look.

She was about to respond when a loud whistle screeched in the night sky. Turning their heads, Duo and the others saw a raging fire over the horizon, smoke billowing from the destruction. In a rush, Cagalli ran back toward the encampment with Duo behind her.

"Sahib!" she yelled with worry written on her face. Urgency reigned in the encampment as the Desert Dawn gathered their weapons and took off to Tassil. Armed, Sahib was rushing the resistance fighters into their vehicles before he too jumped in his own and took off.

"Cagalli! Tassil's burning," Ahmed yelled, a grim frown on his face, as he roared the engine of his brown jeep. Without haste, she gripped her rocket launcher and ammunition and hopped into the jeep. Her black-haired protector armed to the teeth jumped in the backseat.

"Hey, wait for me," Duo yelled as he too jumped into the backseat of the jeep. Surprise graced the faces of the resistance fighters.

"This doesn't concern you," Cagalli shouted over the roar of the engine.

"The Hell it doesn't. You need as much as help as you can get sister, especially if there are any injured," he argued. Cagalli gritted her teeth in frustration. _Out of all times like this_, she thought.

"Cagalli, let him come," the black-haired man said as he gave her a stern look. Relenting, Cagalli sighed and nodded her head for Ahmed to drive. They drove with great speed, gushing dust from their acceleration.

Back in the encampment, Murrue ordered all her crew to defensive positions and Mu to his Skygrasper as she ran back to the Archangel. For Zaft to attack now and so close to their positions meant they had to safeguard their territory. The Skygrasper rushed out of the Archangel toward the town. Murrue smiled. Mu should relay her Tassil's situation at any time. Zaft was taunting them for the Desert Tiger to attack this soon.

"Captain Ramius," a voice called from behind her in the Archangel's corridors as she stopped her sprint to the bridge.

"Heero? What is it?" Murrue asked him as he, Trowa, and Wufei caught up to her.

"Do you have any spare jeeps we could take to help out those in Tassil?"

"Yes, you're lucky we have one extra jeep left in the Archangel. I've just sent Lt. Natarle and some forces ahead of you. Make sure you gather all the equipment and medical aid necessary for the civilians," she paused in thought, "Are sure you want to decrease our fighting force if all of you go out?" she questioned.

"That's not necessary. The Desert Tiger is likely sending a message. He'll leave once he accomplished his objective," Heero stated.

"His objective?"

"To lure out the rebels and cut their supplies," Trowa said simply. "It doesn't take much force to wipe out an entire town, so he'll use his mobile suits wisely. From looking at the specs of the BuCUEs they have the capabilities to devastate Tassil completely with their missiles."

Murrue frowned as she thought over her new plan. _I'll have to send Kira, if their plan is to lure the rebels out then they'll get annihilated_. Things seemed grim for the Desert Dawn.

"I'll have to send Kira out for backup," she reasoned, "He'll take some of the brunt off the Desert Tiger's forces."

"A good plan. We'll see you in a bit," Heero finished as the Gundam pilots ran to the hangar. Murrue continued to the bridge with a smile on her face. _Maybe they can make this alliance work_, she thought, as she entered the elevator.

* * *

The Desert Tiger watched the town burn from his jeep; a predatory smile adorned his face. His three BuCUEs had just finished razing the town to the ground. He wasn't an evil man, but for the greater good of Zaft and his crew, executing difficult plans like attacking towns filled with civilians was crucial. Lucky for the civilians he was nice enough to let them vacate their homes before he demolished their town.

"Commander Waltfeld, the task is done," Martin DaCosta said as he ran to greet his commander.

"Casualties on both sides?" Waltfeld stated, his blues surveying the town.

"Casualties? As if there would be any, what with your order for the civilians to safely leave their town. And as if we get into a fight here."

"Good. Let's go, we accomplished our objective," Waltfeld said frankly, crossing his arms over his green Zaft trench coat.

"Our objective? Wasn't the mission to lure the husbands here so we could attack them?" DaCosta asked, unsure of the mission.

"Nope. You'll see when the hatred in their hearts descends upon us like a blazing firestorm," Waltfeld said, as they drove away from the town.

* * *

"Total destruction! How horrible," Mu La Flaga expressed as he flew over the burning town. Zaft sure did a number on this one. He knew the destruction of war was terrible – he himself surviving Endymion Crater – but it still pulled at his heart to see peoples' livelihoods destroyed. Spotting movement on the outskirts of the town, he zoomed in.

"Civilians?" he exclaimed. It was not just a few, but hundreds if not thousands were gathered at the edge of town; they were all huddled closely together, weeping and crying.

"Who knew the Desert Tiger had a heart?" Mu said, as he turned on the radio transmission to the bridge of the Archangel. The voice of Murrue echoed through his cockpit.

"What's the status, Lt. Commander?" her gentle voice controlled.

"The Desert Tiger seemed to have had his fun and left. What I don't understand is that he left survivors. It seems like all the civilians are gathered around the outskirts of town, now homeless," Mu replied, still eyeing the burning town.

"Do you think it was preplanned?" Murrue proposed worriedly.

"I'm certain that it was," he concluded, "I'm going to check on the ground situation. La Flaga out."

As Mu landed, the Desert Dawn, Earth Forces, and the Gundam pilots reached the edge of the Tassil. Cries of gratitude and relief rang in the night air as the resistance fighters hugged their families and loved ones. The sound of children crying as they ran to their fathers lit a smile Mu's and Duo's face. The Gundam pilots spread out amongst the crowd asking anyone for help or assisting the weak and frail.

"Commander! What's going on," Natarle called worriedly, as she ran to him; she was horrified by the burning city. Mu merely shrugged looking at the reunion of families.

"Do you still think those young men are with Zaft now?" Mu commented, his eyes sweeping over the forms of the young men helping out the civilians.

"I don't know," Natarle answered truthfully, unsure of her decision. The kindness of the young pilots was astounding during this desperate situation. Her eyes swept the crowd: Heero was helping an elderly woman with her slight burns on her ankle; Duo was making funny faces for the children; Trowa was providing support for a young woman that scraped her knee; and Wufei was treating minor cuts on the children. The abundance of kindness from these unknown men filled her heart with warmth. Even Cagalli had to agree as she observed the crowd.

"Incredible," Cagalli uttered softly as she watched the Gundam pilots provide relief for the citizens of Tassil.

"Maybe I misjudged them," she muttered, as she and Sahib looked for the town's chief, Sahib's father. Sahib shouted orders to provide help for the injured as the crowd gave a wide berth for an elderly man wearing a light blue, long sleeve shirt accompanied with a purple and yellow colored vest. The man leaned on his brown cane as his grandson supported him.

"Yaru! Chief!" Cagalli cried, as she ran up to them. The young boy smiled gratefully, calling Cagalli and his father, Sahib. Sahib rubbed his hand affectionately over his son's brown hair, grateful that he was alive.

"How many killed? Are there any injured?" Sahib spoke to his father, his brown eyes concerned.

"Minor injuries are accounted though nothing too grievous, but there are no fatalities," the chief said amongst the bewildered looks of the resistance forces. "The Desert Tiger came with force, but gave us time to collect our belongings and evacuate the town before they set Tassil ablaze. Fire rages across our once beautiful town, our beacon of hope diminishing under the fires of war."

The elderly chief looked down, his wrinkles evident from the glow of the blazing fire; his brown eyes filled with sorrow as he continued, knowing how dire their condition was.

"The Desert Tiger burnt everything: food, ammunition, water, fuel…we have nothing, Sahib," the chief said sorrowfully. "How are we supposed to live?"

"Bastard! Damn that Tiger! What was he thinking?" Sahib yelled angrily, clenching his fists tightly. _My people now have nothing! What was his point_, he thought furiously, _we're the ones he should go after!_

"But there are ways to survive, right? As long as you're alive," a male voice called from behind Sahib. The crowd turned their attention to the pilot in a black and purple schemed suit; a calm smile highlighted his face.

"It appears that the Desert Tiger has no intentions of engaging in a serious battle with you," Mu said, his arms spread out openly.

"What do you mean by that?" Sahib questioned angrily, his brown eyes hostile.

"This is likely payback for what you did to them last night. I'd say it's awfully kind of the Desert Tiger to let you guys off with something minor as this," he said, observing the burning town.

"How dare you?!" Cagalli growled, her backhand missing Mu's face. "Something minor like this? Having a town burnt down like this is something minor? How could you regard anyone that could do this?"

Feeling a little overwhelmed, Mu apologized while slightly distancing himself from the angry blond. "I apologize for upsetting you, but you're facing an established enemy, Zaft. If they were serious, it could have been much worse than this. Count yourselves lucky that you're alive and your families are together."

"That cowardly bastard! They burn down are town while were not even there and they think that's victorious? We continued to fight courageously at all times! We even destroyed their BuCUEs last time! That's why the cowardly bastard can only get back us like this! He wants us cowering in fear of him while he takes away our necessities, our means of living! To Hell with the Desert Tiger!" Cagalli bellowed loudly, shaking from anger. She was livid; her eyes like molted fire.

Mu tried to take his statement back by placating her, but all he received were heated glares from Natarle and the crowd.

"He's not wrong," the voice of Heero Yuy called as he made his way to the front of the crowd. "You people chose to fight Zaft as guerilla fighters; it's only natural that he would burn towns like these for payback. As riled as you are right now, it would play into his plan."

"What do you mean? Of course we're riled up! He set our town ablaze! That bastard wanted to laugh at our misfortune as he cruelly took away our provisions!" Cagalli roared as she stepped closer to him. This guy just unnerved her. Here he was being indifferent about their situation. Who did this arrogant bastard think he was?

"That's right! Do you think we're going to sit back and let him walk on us as he pleases? Don't bullshit us of staying calm, while Tassil is consumed by fire!" one of the resistance fighters said furiously, receiving several angry nods.

"You're justified to your anger, but at this moment will revenge solve anything? There's a time and place to avenge your town, but as long as you're alive you can fight another day," he reasoned to the crowd. He crossed his arms, his Prussian blue eyes boring into the Desert Dawn.

"The Desert Tiger is bearing his fangs at you, and you're about to be lured into his jaws if you go after him recklessly. Stay here! Your families need you," Heero implored coolly. _These fools are not thinking; taking action will only result in meaningless bloodshed_, Heero thought, as his blue eyes roamed the Desert Dawn's angry faces.

"You think you can tell us what do! You're not even our comrade; more or less a member of our town! We defeated their BuCUEs and we can do so again! I bet you've never experienced hardship like us, boy! You're scared that you can't do it, that's why you cower there. That bastard was laughing at us while he burned our town; he just wants to see us despair!" the resistance fighter snapped as he angrily piled his ammunition in his vehicle.

Heero's blue eyes flashed deadly. Cagalli took a step backwards, her face paling slightly. Heero looked murderous.

"Oh shit. This is so bad," Duo muttered quietly. The last time he'd seen Heero that serious was when he said he would kill all the Gundam engineers. Trowa looked on impassively, his green eyes narrowed on Desert Dawn. _Their weakness for being reckless would get them all killed_, he thought, observing their hostile demeanor. _How familiar_, he reflected, he would not be the one correcting foolish mistakes this time.

"Let them do as they please, Heero," Wufei announced, scowling at the Desert Dawn. "Weaklings like them are fools; their emotional states will get them killed. Besides, do you honestly think you can take on Zaft by yourselves?" he glared at the resistance fighters.

"They'll trample all over you. The weak like you should not be fighting. This type of justice is foolish," Wufei antagonized his black hair and clothes blowing in the wind.

"Weak?! We'll show you weak once we destroy the Desert Tiger. I got some information that the Desert Tiger and his mobile suits are low on ammo; if we leave now, we can still catch them! Watch us avenge our home!" the resistance fighter yelled as he started up his jeep. Most of the fighters rushed to their vehicles intent on taking advantage of the Tiger's closeness.

Sahib ran in front of his men. "Stay here and take care of your families and the injured," he implored desperately, his hands gripping the side of his comrade's jeep.

"Sorry, Sahib, but destiny is calling us," he said before he took off into the desert. Several armed trucks and jeeps followed after him determined for revenge.

"Fools!" Sahib yelled, "But I can't let them do this alone." He climbed into his own jeep intent on following them. A shadow appeared on his side as Cagalli attempted to climb in his jeep.

"No, Cagalli, you and Ahmed stay here," Sahib grunted as he pushed Cagalli to the ground. He drove off after them in haste.

"Cagalli," Ahmed called, as he and her long black-haired protector waited for her to get in in their jeep.

"Thanks, Ahmed," Cagalli said, smiling at him. Ahmed blushed. He always had feelings for Cagalli but was too afraid of acting on them. Maybe once they get the Desert Tiger, he could finally confess to her.

"No problem. We've already defeated their BuCUEs, so this shouldn't be a problem," he said determinedly, following Sahib's jeep.

* * *

Amidst the chaos, the four Gundam pilots and the two Lieutenants grouped together around the Gundam pilots' jeep. Duo sat atop of the jeep's hood, his shoes touching the fender.

"As amusing as that was, should we lend them a helping hand?" Duo said; his eyes trained on Heero.

"Our help is not needed. Kira should be launching soon," Heero responded calmly, his eyes closed.

"The Strike?" Natarle asked, hoping for more information. Her purple eyes wandered across the Gundam pilots' faces.

"You guys sure think things through, don't you? Well whatever, I'll tell the Archangel," Mu commented. He gave Natarle a friendly squeeze on her shoulder before jogging to his Skygrasper.

"What are we to do?" Natarle wondered aloud. She blushed slightly, this was not her expertise.

"We'll do nothing but help out the injured," Heero stated, heading towards the towns people, determined to assist them.

Smiling at Wufei, Duo shrugged as he slid off the gray jeep. They both followed after Heero, making their way towards the brown makeshift tents housing the injured.

Natarle and Trowa were the only ones remaining by the jeep. Trowa leaned against the passenger side of the jeep, watching the town deteriorate slowly. He seemed to be deep in thought.

"Um…couldn't you pilots still go to your mobile suits?" Natarle questioned the silent pilot.

Turning his visible green eye, Trowa stared at Natarle before acknowledging her question.

"That would waste time. By the time we're ready, the battle would have ended. Moreover, the Desert Dawn should take this as a lesson," Trowa stated coldly.

"A lesson?"

"Think before acting rashly," Trowa answered, unloading some medical supplies and blankets from the jeep.

"Here, let me help you with that," Natarle said as she made her way towards Trowa. He nodded in gratitude, lessening some of his burden into Natarle's waiting arms. The two made their way to the children, Trowa checking for any abrasions, while Natarle handed out snacks and blankets to the shivering children.

His green eyes seemed softer as she observed Trowa assisting the injured. From what Natarle observed of the young man, he was tall, silent, cold, kind, insightful, and smart. Natarle wondered what secrets lay behind those dark green eyes of his. Was he, too, a Coordinator? Catching Natarle staring, Trowa gazed back briefly, catching her eye. She flushed faintly, her cheeks dusted pink. She gripped her hat subconsciously and pushed it down to cover her red face. Now was not the time to be staring idly, Natarle thought embarrassedly, as she returned to her task.

Trowa hummed, glancing out the corner of his eye at the Earth Forces woman. "Lt. Junior Grade Natarle Badgiruel, CIC commander and respected soldier and tactician of the Earth Forces," he said lowly. Accessing the Archangel's database en route to Desert Dawn's hideout earlier in the day, he perused the ship's crew roster. The records stated she was a career soldier who had strong ties to the Earth Alliance from her family.

"Interesting," Trowa summed up, moving towards his next patient.

The Gundam pilots and the Earth Forces treated the injured all night. As night became dawn, the blue skylight pierced through the black smoke of the smoldering town. The exhausted Gundam pilots rested in their gray jeep.

"Whew! Staying up for over 48 hours got me feeling like a machine," Duo said, yawning loudly. He was strewn out over the jeep's hood; his arms were behind his head as he gazed up at the bluish gray sky. Heero sat in the front passenger's side his eyes heavy with sleep. In the backseat, Trowa leaned on his hand dozing lightly into his palm; Wufei sat next him, resting his eyes. The pilots were the only remaining forces at Tassil, because Mu and Natarle returned back earlier to get some sleep leaving the pilots behind.

The sound of roaring engines across the desert dunes awakened the restless pilots. Duo sat up his braid swinging from the motion.

"Seems like the cavalry returned," he said, his blue eyes narrowed on the decreased fighting force_. So they've taken numerous casualties, huh_.

The jeeps parked a few meters from their position. The guerrilla fighters were unusually quiet as they exited their vehicles. A somber ambience permeated from their sorrowful dispositions. Cagalli's face streamed with tears as she and the other Desert Dawn fighters gathered around the jeeps to carry the dead.

Howls tore through the morning hours; women and children screamed for their lost loved ones. Several bodies were laid across the desert ground. Families wept, lovers cried, children sobbed as they confronted the motionless bodies of their men.

Cagalli kneeled across Ahmed's body. She punched the grounded repeatedly moaning the young man's name remorsefully. Her black-haired protector crouched next to her gently squeezing her shoulder in comfort. His death was her fault. If she only listened to Sahib then Ahmed would have still been here with her.

"I'm so sorry, Ahmed," Cagalli cried, tears flowing like rivers down her cheeks; she quietly sobbed over his body.

"Duo, let's go. We're intruding," a wide awake Heero said compassionately. Heero eyed the mournful fighters silently, his eyes comforting when Cagalli looked his way. She seemed lost; her teary hazel eyes unfocused.

"Yeah," Duo agreed, hopping into the driver's seat. They took off to the Archangel hoping to get some well-deserved sleep from their eventful time in the Cosmic Era, all of them unaware of the wheels in motion.

* * *

The Earth shook uncontrollably as fleets of birds abandoned their now destroyed habitat. The sound of metal vibrating echoed in the silence of the disturbed rainforest. Five large, metallic, land-battleships transitioned into desert sand from the rainforest. The metal monstrosities entered slowly into former South Sudan, the Sahara Desert from the Congo Basin. A multitude of mobile suits ranging from GINNs to ZAKUs stood atop the mobile battleships. Swarms of helicopters gravitated around the mobile suits lifting metal containers and metal-encased ammunition. At the front of the group was the Lesseps-class battleship, the Ares. In the front of the battleship was the bridge. The bridge contained a circular room that split into two halves under a long ramp. Below the ramp held two halves section where the combat and system operators in green and white patterned uniforms worked diligently sending information to sections throughout the ship. Standing on the ramp facing the large window outside the bridge, Commander Samuel Jenkins stood silently.

His immaculate black uniform sharp and elegant contrasted against his messy peppered hair and pencil-like mustache. He stood resolute, his hands behind his back while he watched the viewport.

He joined the new Zaft military in 50 C.E. distinguishing himself from his peers as a tactical and innovative genius. By January 70 C.E. he possessed a large force that he coordinated with Andrew Waltfeld to establish jurisdiction in the North African Community. He cemented his tactical brilliance at the Battle of Namibia in early April 70 C.E., leading his forces to victory by gaining 20 percent of the South African Union.

At the moment, his battleship division crept slowly toward Egypt. Apparently, his old friend Andrew was in need of some "heavy" assistance. Andrew told him that his forces were necessary to contain and eliminate the Archangel. Jenkins had his doubts and he voiced that it was excessive for this type of joint military operation to destroy the Archangel and the Strike. Waltfeld agreed. He said he would have used his own battle carriers to confront the Earth Alliance, but new variables were added into the equation. Four new G-weapons had emerged and aided the legged ship in defeating him – even destroying his Lesseps with one shot and that was no easy feat.

Jenkins was skeptical over the affair until Andrew sent him pictures and live feed from the attack yesterday. Appalled by what he saw, he frowned in contemplation. Mobile suits with those capabilities to defeat BuCUEs in seconds were groundbreaking. Compared to the previous G-weapons, these suits were heavily fortified and strong. He had to be wary of the suit that destroyed the Lesseps: the suit with the white wings and twin rifle would be a dangerous foe.

If those five forces worked together in tandem then the Alliance would be unstoppable. Luckily for Zaft, he was the man to do the job. Although, Zala wouldn't be too happy over leaving his location this soon as Operation Spitbreak neared.

* * *

A few days passed since the burning of Tassil. The four Gundam pilots remained focused in repairing and loading their ammunition to their Gundams. The pilots worked around the clock only stopping for meals and sleep. Today was no different. As soldiers they had to be prepared at any given possibility of a Zaft attack. Even Kira stayed busy, keeping to himself as he configured his operating system, adding variables and fixing energy parameters to attain the advantage in future battles.

"They sure stay busy," Mu commented to Murrue, observing the hardworking Gundam pilots from the hangar ramp. He had to hand it them; they really were efficient.

"You're right. Though, I do worry about Kira. He seems to be seeking solitude in his Gundam a bit more than usual," Murrue said worriedly, her brown eyes on the Strike's cockpit.

"I guess you didn't hear about the tryst he had with Crewman 2nd Class Flay Allster," Mu explained, his blond eyebrows bouncing on his forehead.

"Tryst? Wasn't Flay with Sai?" Murrue asked curiously. The last time she saw Flay, she was hanging on to Sai's arm.

"Well the gossip around the ship says she left him for Kira after a wild night. We also have to add that with her father's death, her marriage to Sai was annulled," Mu answered, shaking his head in amusement.

"I worry about that boy. He's been fighting so hard lately to protect the ship that I don't think anyone takes the time to consider his feelings. Do you have any solutions?"

Mu smiled as he leered at her bountiful breasts; Murrue's white form-fitting uniform did nothing to conceal much of her ample chest. _Jackpot_, he thought.

"Not any solutions you would like?" Mu said lewdly, his blue eyes glazed.

"Eyes up here, Lieutenant," Murrue said, annoyed by Mu's lustful stares. However, a small part of her was happy that he found her attractive.

"Anyways, we better inform Kira and the other pilots of tomorrow's agenda into Banadiya," Murrue said as she and Mu walked toward the working pilots.

Murrue called for the pilots' attention in the busy hangar. She informed them that an envoy would be traveling to Banadiya, the Desert Tiger's den, for contracting ammunition and food supplies for the ship and the denizens of Tassil. Natarle Badgiruel and Sahib would lead the group, while Kira would accompany Cagalli Yula to attain food and other necessities.

Kira looked in surprise, his purples eyes widening. He would finally be able to leave the Archangel. Kira chose solitude in his mobile suit, because of the silent tension between him and Sai was affecting the atmosphere amongst his friends. He nodded his head in understanding at Murrue's orders.

"If that's the case, then I better head out. I need to talk to Sahib about some ammunition," Trowa said softly; he nodded to group before he exited the hangar. Mu, Murrue, and Wufei soon left the hangar too leaving Kira, Duo, and Heero to their own devices.

"I finally get some sunlight and city time," Duo expressed gladly.

"No, you're staying here," Heero declared. "We need another mobile suit to guard the Archangel."

"You got to be kidding me. Wouldn't it be more logical for you to use your mobile suit for reconnaissance if Zaft shows?"

Heero peered curiously at Duo, his Prussian blue eyes expressionless.

"You're right. Would you like to use mine?" Heero answered coolly.

"Hell, no! That thing is a death trap!" Duo cried, his right hand pointing at the monstrosity known as Wing Zero. Duo was shocked that Heero would even suggest such a thing. Kira gazed at the stationary Wing Zero; the Gundam's human-like eyes did appear creepy.

"I'm sticking with my buddy, Deathscythe," Duo proclaimed, crossing his arms in assurance.

"Then it's settled: you and Deathscythe can guard the ship. Plus with your conspicuous personality you'll attract unwanted attention," Heero affirmed with a nod. He took off to the exit.

"Damn you, Heero! I'm spray painting your Gundam pink! I'm sure Zaft would love a direct target like that," Duo shouted at the departing young men.

Heero stopped, turning his head to meet Duo's; his wavy brown hair covered his piercing blue eyes.

"I'll kill you if you even try," Heero stated matter-of-factly, his demeanor serious. The brown-haired Gundam pilot left the hangar in a momentarily silence.

Kira's voice broke the silence uncertain if Heero would make do on that threat. "You don't think he'll kill you, will he?" Kira asked dubiously.

"I doubt it, but it's not like there's been close calls," Duo said ambiguously. Kira stared at him in shock. _Were they not friends_, he thought, _or was it just business?_ He too wondered where the pilots came from.

"So, um, where are you from Duo?" Kira asked, his forearms covering the ramp's gray rail.

"I'm from space. Born and raised in zero gravity," Duo answered nostalgically, sitting on the rail besides Kira. His cobalt blue eyes looked wistfully at the ceiling remembering his days as a child in the L2 Colony Cluster. Those were the days where he became Duo Maxwell.

"Space? I'm from space as well; regionally, I'm from Lagrange three at Orb's space colony, Heliopolis. Well, former space colony," Kira said sadly, his arms tightened on the rail. It had been little over month since Zaft attacked Heliopolis. To Kira it felt like years. Kira's mind wandered back to those cataclysmic events after Heliopolis.

Out of the corner of his eye, Duo noticed Kira's sad disposition. Everyone had their secrets and stories, including himself, so he wasn't going to pry into the events at Heliopolis.

"What did you do before joining the Earth Forces?" Duo asked curiously.

Kira's purple eyes lit up at the question. "I was a student at the local technical college at Heliopolis. I studied computer programming."

"A student, huh. I hated school; it was too boring – sitting for hours and writing tons of papers," Duo complained loudly. Kira smiled. Duo seemed to have a very happy and outgoing personality. A loud growl interrupted Duo's tirade. Blushing, Duo embarrassedly put his hand on his stomach.

"Well, I guess food calls. I'll see you later, Kira," Duo said, waving behind him.

"Wait! Are you a Coordinator?" Kira yelled suddenly, his voice stopping Duo.

"I'm as Natural as Natural can be. Besides, it shouldn't matter; we're both human. We're going to die anyways. We might as well work with what we got and put our best effort into this life," Duo answered casually, his eyes clairvoyant.

"Later! And try not to think too much," Duo shouted from behind the hangar's entrance.

Kira blinked, pondering Duo's words. "We're both human," he muttered quietly.

"You should listen to the kid's words. He's got a good head on him," a gruff voice interrupted Kira's thoughts. Chief mechanic Murdoch waved at him before he attended the Strike.

"Yeah…sure," Kira replied. Duo Maxwell certainly was a strange person, Kira thought, before leaving the hangar.

* * *

"You have to be joking! You're not serious, are you?!" Sahib yelled; he was astonished by what the young man in a dark blue long sleeve turtleneck planned to do to Zaft in Banadiya.

"I know what I'm doing," the young man with green eyes said softly. Trowa stood firm as Sahib let out a series of curses in Arabic. The two stood alone in Desert Dawn's base of operations. Sahib felt like pulling his beard; this kid was insane.

"How positive are you that this will work out? If you're captured, we won't be able to rescue you," Sahib said, unsure of the kid's survival rate. He paced the rocky ground, his hand subconsciously rubbing his green bandanna on his head.

"I'll be alright," Trowa assured; his green eyes were brimming with confidence.

For a moment, Sahib stared hard at the young man before relenting in a drawn-out sigh. "You're lucky I got an extra Zaft mechanic uniform in hand. I'll give you the rest in the morning. Make sure they pay for what they've done to Tassil."

"I understand," Trowa promised. He nodded to Sahib before walking silently out the room.

Sahib shook his head in amazement, lounging on the main table. The teen had spirit, he would give him that, but could he back it up? He stared out the entryway silently hoping that tomorrow's exchange went well. Al-Jairi, the supply contractor, was a shifty individual; he would need all his cunning and cleverness to deal with this snake.

* * *

Loud roars disturbed the tranquility of the desert as two vehicles speeded their way toward Banadiya. The dirty brown jeep in the lead held four passengers: in the front passenger seat sat Sahib, in the backseats were two Earth Forces officers dressed covertly, Natarle Badgiruel and Jackie Tonumura, and one Gundam pilot, Trowa Barton.

The gushing wind from the speed of the jeep blew Trowa's asymmetrical light brown hair back revealing his two dark green eyes. He stared absentmindedly at the desert dunes, looking at their crescent shapes. Natarle sat next to him, squeezed in the middle. She had been glancing surreptitiously at his black backpack and his green lumpy duffel bag sitting in between his knees from behind her dark blue sunglasses.

She was about to open her mouth when Jackie asked first. "You're Trowa right? What's in the bags?" Jackie commented, eyeing his stuff.

"Presents from Sahib," Trowa said simply, still watching the sandy landscape.

"Presents?" Natarle and Jackie said in unison, glancing at each other.

Sahib snorted from his front seat at Trowa's answer. The teen definitely had spirit.

"What do you really have in those bags, Trowa," Natarle said sternly. Natarle's purple eyes narrowed on his handsome face. Trowa remained silent, ignoring her question as he gazed at the desert. Natarle sighed in exasperation, pinching her nose. Dealing with stubborn teenagers gave her headaches.

"Don't worry about it. The kid's got a plan," Sahib spoke up. A black eyebrow rose in question at Sahib's declaration. _A plan? What was really going on_, she wondered. It would seem that she was not notified or informed on the secret plan between Trowa and Sahib. She continued to keep a cautious eye on the young man for the remainder of the trip to Banadiya unsure of his intentions.

Crowds thronged in the desert city of Banadiya. The jeeps met hordes of people traveling from place to place as they made their way onto the narrow gravely streets. Men, women, and children smiled and laughed in the spirited city. A picture of normalcy surrounded the denizens of Banadiya under martial law from Zaft. The jeeps stopped at a local marketplace, letting the five teenagers out of the car.

"I'll see you guys later," Trowa said to other passengers in the jeep; his black backpack hugged his back as he hauled his green lumpy bag over his shoulder. His eyes met Heero's before giving a subtle nod. Natarle's sharp eyes watched him leave into the city, blending in with the rush of the crowd. Jackie tapped her shoulder lightly, whispering for her to remain focus. She blushed at her carelessness. Natarle clumsily said goodbye to Kira before the two jeeps left the vicinity.

Amidst the flurry of activity, Heero observed the scenes around him. Ever vigilant of his surroundings, he noticed the watchful stares from vendors and hidden holsters of traveling "civilians". _Undercover Zaft forces_, he thought. Heero glanced at some of the shops in the market. They were strategically placed in front of some bullet-covered, Arabic styled-buildings. Heero met Wufei's dark eyes as the Altron pilot flicked his eyes to the many open windows on the second story buildings. Small tubes of metal gleamed from the darkened rooms of some second story windows, the white curtains covering the snipers positions.

A female voice broke his reverie. Cagalli stood facing him, her hazel eyes dejected. "Could we talk alone for a second," she whispered. Heero nodded, and the two walked toward the market glancing lazily at the happy people around them. Cagalli exhaled deeply before continuing.

"I just wanted to apologize for my actions at Tassil. I was angry and I didn't listen to you. As a result, my good friend Ahmed died at my recklessness. I was just so furious at the Desert Tiger that I wanted him to pay for what he'd done. How could the Desert Tiger do such a thing! And I…,"she trailed off sadly, swallowing a sob. She exhaled slowly, looking into Heero's blue eyes.

"It's not wrong to act on your emotions, but letting your emotions overwhelm and dictate your rationality on the battlefield is foolish. Be careful next time or you might end up losing your life," Heero said knowingly.

He gave her a nod before trailing back towards Kira. _Thoughtless actions like those are costly on the battlefield; she needs to learn that, and I think she gained some semblance of understanding her roll in Desert Dawn_. Heero peered over his shoulder at the lagging blond-haired woman. She was watching him with a small smile.

An hour later found the four teenagers lounging in front of a Mediterranean restaurant; its striped blue and white canopy shielding them from the bright sunlight. Kira and Cagalli sat together chatting amicably, while Heero and Wufei sat behind them. There bags filled with food and other necessities lay beside them. Heero sipped his drink looking casually into the busy street. Wufei lounged in his chair across from Heero; his right arm relaxed over the top rail. They both noted the presence of a colorfully dressed man lingering behind them. Heero eyed subtly the tall man leaning against the adjacent building wearing a red and yellow striped shirt, large rectangular sunglasses, and a tanned hat.

"He's been prowling us ever since we arrived in this city. He's biding his time," Wufei remarked, exchanging furtive glances at the man.

"The Desert Tiger," Heero stated, closing his eyes. Heero deduced that assassinating the man here would be a poor decision. They did not come to Banadiya for violence. And besides, the man had a covert escort with him that Heero noticed among the "armed denizens" of Banadiya. The man walked towards their location.

The disguised man surveyed their food before engaging Kira and Cagalli in conversation about doner kabob toppings. He actively argued that yogurt was the best topping than chili sauce dosing Kira's food with it. Infuriated, Cagalli reasoned that kabobs with chili sauce had the best taste, squirting hers and Kira's food with it. She took a bite of her own, smiling smugly at the unknown man. Kira looked uneasily at his food. He would need more water to down this.

The man laughed freely, seating himself with the two teenagers. He spied their groceries.

"Look at you four and your loaded bags of food. Having a party, are we?" the man said simply, his voice light.

"That's none of your business," Cagalli yelled, her hands pounding the table.

A loud whistle echoed through the air interrupting the friendly banter as an incoming missile headed toward their location. Four pairs of eyes readied themselves, taking cover behind their upturned tables. Kira launched himself at Cagalli, shielding her from the impact of the explosion behind them. The sound of machine gun fire resounded in the city streets. Heero readied his pistol. He looked at the five charging men in determination. He shot one of the attackers in the head as the Tiger's hidden escorts opened fire.

"Die, Coordinators! Monsters from the skies!" yelled one of the attackers, firing at the hidden Coordinators.

"For the preservation of our blue and pure world," an assailant shouted, firing his gun at the Zaft forces.

"Blue Cosmos," Cagalli called angrily as Kira shielded her from stray bullets.

Intense bullet fire was traded back from the supporters of Blue Cosmos and Zaft forces. The Desert Tiger shot one of the assailants, leaving three left. Another enemy fell to Wufei, a bullet in his chest. The remaining man was left riddled with bullet holes, collapsing lifelessly to the ground. A man hidden behind a dark alley thought he could catch the Tiger unprepared, but Kira's quick reflexes picked up the gun from one of fallen assailants and threw it at the man's firearm. Caught off-guard, Kira kicked the man's face hard, dropping him to the ground.

The Tiger's guard shot the man, killing him instantly. Kira looked away in disgust. He intensely disliked killing. Before the tense atmosphere could dissipate two guns were trained on the Desert Tiger's head. Heero and Wufei stood at the ready should the Tiger make a sudden move.

"Oh my, so you've caught me? But, I think it's I who has caught you," Waltfeld stated, as more Zaft officers entered the vicinity, their guns locked-on to the Gundam pilots. Reluctantly, they dropped their weapons and raised their hands in surrender.

"Good. But I would still like to show my appreciation," Waltfeld said good-naturedly to the young teenagers. The Zaft soldiers ushered the now captured teens into jeeps, hauling them to the Desert Tiger's lair.

* * *

Zaft's command base for the Desert Tiger was located on the outskirts of Banadiya, where a lavish white palace stood. Mobile suits decorated the landscape around the palace as guards patrolled the region. A large gold land-battleship resided next to the palace, its armaments inactive.

Inside the palace, in the Commander's room - a green and brown colored room embellished in gold trim and covered in wood flooring – sat Heero, Wufei and Kira on a blue couch. At the moment, the Desert Tiger was brewing coffee for his guests. The room's large windows reflected the bright light from outside, lighting the earthly colored room. Absent from the group was Cagalli. Aisha, a beautiful woman with white skin, long black hair with two yellow highlights that framed her bangs, took Cagalli to clean her up: her clothes and hair were soiled from yogurt and chili sauce, and tea stains when Waltfeld kicked the table for protective cover.

With coffees in their hands, the Gundam pilots observed Waltfeld as he sipped his coffee slowly. Waltfeld hummed lightly at the taste of the coffee.

"Delicious, isn't it? I'm trying out Hawaiian Kona and Brazilian java, and I have to say I really outdone myself this time," Waltfeld said, his eyes dancing.

The pilots remained silent. Heero and Wufei watched Waltfeld with narrowed eyes, suspicious of the Zaft Commander. They left their coffee untouched on the wooden table in front of the couch. Kira was unsure of what to do; he just hoped Cagalli was alright. A tense silence filled the air until the door opened revealing Aisha and a shy Cagalli. Dressed in a lovely jade gown with matching hairclips and gold accessories, Cagalli blushed in an embarrassment; her hazel eyes swept the room, finding Kira shocked by her attire. Heero and Wufei looked indifferent, their expressions serious.

"A girl?" Kira uttered in surprise; his eyes roaming her body.

"What's that supposed to mean," she retorted angrily. Kira backtracked on his words as Cagalli fumed. Laughter from Waltfeld and Aisha broke the tension between Kira and Cagalli. The two blushed at the awkwardness of their situation.

"Enough with the fake civility," Wufei barked, intent on ending this façade of pleasantry. Kira and Cagalli found their way to the couch sitting in-between Heero and Wufei.

"That's right! What in the Hell does the Tiger want with us? When he destroys our towns and kills our people!" Cagalli agreed, her hazel eyes burning.

"You're lucky to be alive, girl. You should be grateful I did not do more," the Desert Tiger said evenly.

The Desert Tiger's eyes narrowed on his audience, his demeanor shifting. His eyes looked at the untouched cups of china.

"You know, it's impolite for a guest to refuse their host's hospitality, especially when said host labored on this coffee," Waltfeld said, picking up his cup and taking a sip. He closed his eyes.

"I wonder. What do you think needs to be done to end this war? As mobile suit pilots?" He stared at his startled audience, changing the subject.

"Hey? How do you know that?" Cagalli said, standing in surprise. Waltfeld looked at Kira; a sly grin adorned the Tiger's face.

"He has a problem of being too sincere." Waltfeld stood up from the blue couch parallel to the teenagers and faced the palace grounds. He swiftly pulled his gun out aiming it at the teenagers. Kira shielded Cagalli, his purples eyes looking for an exit. Heero sat calmly, his eyes narrowing on Waltfeld's gun; he was unafraid to die. Wufei was undaunted by the display of power.

He pointed his gun at Kira. "There are no points given or regulation time in a war unlike sports. So how are winners and losers determined? At what point do we put an end to it? When every single enemy has been destroyed? What do you say as an elite Coordinator, boy?

Kira did not know how to answer the question. He gritted his teeth as he guarded Cagalli. "I don't know," Kira answered unsurely.

Waltfeld pointed the gun at Heero. "How about you? I'm sure you're a Coordinator, too."

Heero's expressionless eyes showed neither fear nor emotion as he considered Waltfeld's question.

"I'm no Coordinator," Heero proclaimed calmly.

Waltfeld's blue eyes widened. "With moves like those I doubt you're a Natural. You may not have noticed but I was watching you as well during the firefight. Your reaction highlights above average physical reflexes."

"Think what you will, but to answer your question: this war will end when humanity is at the brink of its destruction. Humans by nature are weak – whether Natural or Coordinator, it does not matter." Heero paused, recalling his final moments with Zechs.

"Human violence won't end until their will to fight has been broken – Coordinator and Natural both. Threaten humanity with its very own form of extinction and watch their will to fight deteriorate."

The Desert Tiger studied the Prussian blue-eyed boy. Compared to the purple-eyed boy, this boy carried himself as a soldier. The boy's eyes told a story of sorrow and battle. A moment of clarity struck the Desert Tiger. This boy was burdening hardships faced by seasoned soldiers older than him. Either this boy was a deceptive liar or he had training in his childhood.

"Did you learn this from experience?" Waltfeld questioned earnestly, his blue eyes boring into the young man on the couch. The boy kept silent, his eyes never leaving Waltfeld's.

"I see. So the Earth Alliance has been training child soldiers to compete with Coordinators. And the two of you must be their top specimens. Or am I wrong?"

A series of gasps echoed in the sunlit room. Aisha had put her hands to her mouth in shock, while Kira and Cagalli's eyes widened in disbelief. Cagalli peered over Kira's shoulder to get a closer look at Heero. The young man face was stoic; his demeanor unflinching.

Heero kept his composure calm. The man was too observant for his own good.

"Like I said before 'think what you will'," Heero replied simply.

Waltfeld smirked, his sharp eyes fixed on Heero. He looked at the unruffled Wufei; they both glared at each other. "How about you, angry eyes? You seem very passionate. Are you like him as well?"

Wufei snorted in contempt, his eyes studying Waltfeld. Shadows danced into the room as the sun descended slowly.

"I am a Natural. Don't think because of your genetic make-up that you're superior, because if you do, I'll take advantage of that weakness," Wufei chided.

Waltfeld grinned, his blue eyes dancing in amusement. "I wouldn't count it."

"This war will end when all those that hold evil intentions are eradicated from this world," Wufei stated. "The Earth Alliance and Zaft have both committed atrocities that are unforgivable. Neither one is searching for peace."

"So the Earth Alliance and Zaft must be eliminated completely? That's a black and white perception you hold of the world. Evil is a subjective term. What do you define as evil?" Waltfeld said curiously.

Wufei paused. He gritted his teeth in irritation. Flashes of his fight with Treize passed through his mind. Treize was fighting for the same reason he had, but wasn't he the epitome of evil. Was their fight meaningless?

"I don't know," Wufei admitted honestly. "But I'll determine for myself whether the path I'm following is the correct one. I'll stay true to my own sense of integrity."

"I wonder if you will stay true to your sense of integrity even if it twists your very nature?" Waltfeld asked rhetorically. This boy was conflicted, haunted by demons of his past. Waltfeld wondered what the future had in store for the young Chinese pilot.

"I see we're getting somewhere, but, unfortunately, our time has come to an end." He walked toward a desk situated near the windows and dashed his gun in the front drawer. Aisha held opened the door.

"It was a pleasure talking to you all, though, I wish we had more time. This conversation was insightful," Waltfeld said knowingly, his eyes on the trailing backs of the teenagers.

"I'll enjoy seeing you on the battlefield."

Kira and Cagalli halted, their expressions morose, before they continued through the doorway. Wufei gave Waltfeld a piercing stare, which the man returned with a smirk, before leaving. As Heero was about to leave the room, he stopped. He turned his head to meet the Desert Tiger's.

"You're the same as him," Heero stated coolly.

A brown eyebrow rose at the young man's statement. "And what do you mean by that?"

"You're also too sincere." Heero gave a pointed stare at Waltfeld before departing out the open door.

Alone in the room with Aisha, Waltfeld looked at the departing backs of the teenagers from the room's square windows.

"Prepare yourselves, young ones, our battle awaits," he said, gazing specifically at the purple-eyed boy.

The four were escorted back into town where they rendezvoused with a worried Natarle, Sahib, and Jackie. As the four entered their jeeps empty-handed, Natarle noticed one person missing.

"Where's Trowa Barton?" she asked aloud, her eyes searching the streets. "He was also supposed to meet us at the allotted time, but did not appear." She knew the boy could not be trusted; her eyes roamed the market area for the tall young man.

"Trowa can handle himself; he'll be back at the base before morning," Heero answered calmly as he situated himself in the backseat. Sahib looked at the Prussian blue-eyed boy for clarification. Receiving a slight nod from the boy, he started the jeep's engine.

"Then let the stars be his guide," Sahib declared, driving out the city.

* * *

Duo stared at his food in thought. At the moment, he was in the ship's cafeteria eating a cheeseburger. He had just come from the hangar where a disastrous incident occurred. Apparently, in the hangar, Sai tried to activate and control the unlocked Strike, and had failed miserably at his attempt. He was hauled off to the brig and immediately put on locked-down. This had to be one of the most careless situations Duo had ever seen.

Duo sighed loudly. "Are people trying to get themselves killed on purpose?"

"And what's that's supposed mean?" Miraillia said. Her turquoise eyes narrowed. She, her boyfriend, Tolle Koenig, and friend Kuzzey Buzkirk, two young men around Duo's age, had just walked into the mess hall.

"I don't know if you haven't notice lately, but your friend is an idiot. His jealousy could of gotten us all killed!" Duo said.

"He's not an idiot, he's just…distraught," Miriaillia clarified sadly, her eyes on the floor.

"He's been having a hard time lately over losing his relationship with Flay," Tolle spoke softly.

"Next time could you at least talk some sense into him before he does something reckless again? I don't need small incidences like these that can jeopardize my life," Duo said, shaking his head.

"I really doubt we need to. Sai was lucky he got detention instead of execution for breaking military protocol," Tolle said, as he brought his and Miriaillia's plate to Duo's table. "Thank Captain Ramius for small miracles."

Duo shrugged as he continued to eat. "You're Duo, right? I'm Mir, this Tolle, and this is Kuzzey," Mir said, pointing to a brown-haired boy, and a dark blue-haired boy.

"Duo Maxwell, nice to meet you," he responded politely. "Where are you guy's from?"

"We're from Heliopolis," Miraillia responded.

"So you're just like Kira, students from Heliopolis," Duo assumed, eyeing the three teenagers.

"Yeah," Tolle said, glancing at his fellow students-now-Earth Alliance-soldiers.

The chatter dissolved into silence while the teenagers finished their meal. Kuzzey stared inconspicuously at Duo.

"What is it," Duo said, noticing Kuzzey's non-subtle looks. Kuzzey embarrassedly blushed at being caught.

"Are you and your friends Coordinators," Kuzzey said carefully, noticing the surprised and pained expressions at him from his friends.

Duo smirked. "I'm a Natural and a genius, which makes me as human as any Coordinator. If you want to ask my companions you can, but I doubt they'll be as open with you as I am." Before the students could ask about his mobile suit, he picked up his tray.

"I'll see you guys around," he said as he left the mess hall.

The remaining three teenagers looked at each other in confusion.

"At least he's modest," Miriaillia supplied, picking at her food.

"Maybe too modest," Tolle said, smiling at his answer. "Kuzzey, we need to teach you about tact," Tolle said, glancing at the blue-haired boy in annoyance. The teenagers dispersed into conversation at Kuzzey's expense.

* * *

The Petrie, a gold colored land-battleship, lay motionless in the center of Banadiya. Inside the ship, two figures stood in the chief mechanic's room: a small white room filled with a large white desk, posters and designs of mechanical engineering and mobile suit models. Sitting behind the desk, the chief Zaft mechanic of the battleship, Desande Beaufort, read through a transfer form for the green-eyed individual sitting in front of him.

"A transferee from Carpentaria? Not that we need one, but it does seem suspicious that we would be getting one about now," Beaufort stated, his brown eyes roaming the form. "Especially from someone of your standing, Trowa Barton."

"It was subtle. I wasn't expecting a transfer so soon, but it seems like my uncle, who works in the mechanical engineering department under Yuri Almafi, was able to expedite the process," the green-eyed boy said softly.

"Damn nepotism! I hope you aren't like those entitled children of the Supreme Council," Beaufort said, scratching his black curly hair.

"I'm just here to do my job, sir," Trowa stated simply.

"Good! I have no time for spoilt children. I don't know if you've heard, but you came at a critical time. We're about to go to war with the Earth Forces white battleship and her five new mobile suits," Beaufort announced seriously. He gave one more glance at the transfer form.

"Everything checks out, welcome to the team, Barton. I'll have someone show you to the dormitories," Beaufort said, shaking Trowa's hand vigorously.

"I'm glad I am of service," Trowa said, his green Zaft uniform sharp as he saluted.

Awhile later, Trowa crept quietly out of his dorm room with his green lumpy duffel bag. His green eyes were devoid of emotion. He searched the bag, and pulled out a small black explosive device. Trowa narrowed his eyes. For tonight's finale he would light the ship up in an extravagant display of explosions.

He strategically placed the bombs in the dormitories, the hangar bay ceiling, and engines. Trowa entered the bridge swiftly killing the midnight-shift crew. He stored his gun away as he took out a flash drive and plugged it into the main computer, downloading important Zaft files and documents. His green eyes hovered over the screen looking at the data. A file caused him to frown.

"A battalion of five armored battleships are headed in this direction led by Commander Samuel Jenkins of the Central African division. Total mobile suits accompanied: 55 mobile suits. In addition, Commander Waltfeld is gathering surrounding units for a joint operation against the Archangel," Trowa whispered, his eyes roamed the screen quickly.

"Not bad a plan for targeting us; and with Waltfeld's force that should be a total of 110 mobile suits," he remarked. He found another file called Operation Spitbreak. He tried accessing it, but an error message appeared.

"Only accessed by word of mouth to top Zaft officials," Trowa said, his green eyes surprised. He hummed in contemplation. Trowa tried rerouting the connection to discover more of Zaft's hidden agenda, but he reached an impasse.

"If something like this is shrouded in mystery to the lower ranking captains and officers, then it is obvious Zaft intends a large scale attack but when? I wonder who's pulling the strings in the PLANTS?" Trowa stashed his flash drive in his pocket, departing the bridge to the hangar. He left the battleship, high-jacking a brown jeep.

He noticed a small nighttime patrol behind him from Zaft as he sped through the gravelly streets of Banadiya. He raced down the darken streets as Zaft opened fire. Bullets flew passed, hitting the dashboard. He ducked his head for cover as a stray bullet nearly grazed his left ear, clipping a few hair. Trowa returned fire swiftly, aiming at his attackers' front tires. A few clipped the jeep's tire; the vehicle swerved out of control crashing into a nearby fountain. From a distance, he could see the Petrie. He pressed the detonation device, exploding the planted bombs in the land-battleship, showering the sleepy city in light and smoke. With the chaos surrounding Zaft in the city, he used that as a diversion to escape into the desert. The brilliance of the stars and moon lighted Trowa's way to the Desert Dawn compound.

"Well, well, well. The kid really did it," said Sahib, eyeing Trowa's jeeps from a bluff with his binoculars as it entered the encampment. The leader of the Desert Dawn stayed up to see if the boy would make it back safely. He grinned. The boy was definitely spirited. Sahib looked to the night sky, his brown eyes gazing at the countless stars.

"Our freedom is almost at hand," Sahib said softly.


End file.
